


Erratic Sensitivities

by Kythe42



Series: Erratic Sensitivities [1]
Category: Forever (TV), Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-24 10:26:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2578220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kythe42/pseuds/Kythe42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry's body looks the same every time he revives after death, but sometimes there are little differences. After a recent death he wakes up the next morning and discovers that his current body is less than ideal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Dr. Henry Morgan woke up and looked at his clock. It was well over half an hour before his alarm normally woke him up. Today he was woken instead by an incredibly itchy nose. He let out a soft groan as he sniffed and rubbed at his nose and could feel congestion starting to set in. He hated when this happened. He'd enjoyed a nice string of non-afflicted incarnations, but his current body, which he had acquired just the previous evening, seemed to suffer badly from allergies. He never used to get allergies, but as the condition grew more and more common in modern society, he found himself growing increasingly prone to them. The strange thing was that every time he died the things he was allergic to changed seemingly at random. Sometimes he got lucky after he died and didn't seem to have allergies at all, or at least he'd die again before he could encounter anything he was allergic to. He briefly mused over how accident prone he seemed to be and wondered if his immortality made him more reckless than he would otherwise have been. Of course at times he'd find himself allergic to something that he'd been allergic to in a past incarnation but the intensity of the allergy wasn't always the same. What had previously been a minor allergy could turn into something more severe or vice versa. One thing that stayed fairly consistent was that sneezing seemed to feature as a prominent symptom in the majority of his allergies most likely due to his keen sense of smell and overall sensitive nose. 

As the itch in his nose increased, he quickly deduced that his current body must have a rather nasty pollen allergy. He looked around for a box of tissues, but there were none on either of his nightstands, since it had been a few months since he'd last suffered from allergies. He couldn't wait any longer. The itch in his nose reached its peak and he had no choice but to sneeze into the crook of his arm. He sniffed wetly and pulled himself out of bed. He opened his closet and retrieved a box of tissues from the top shelf. He opened the box and pulled out a couple of tissues just in time to muffle two wet sneezes into them. He sat down on the edge of his bed and blew his nose then sighed. He could tell that this was going to be one hell of a day.

Henry showered and dressed thankful that he had woken up early as it took him a bit longer than usual to accomplish these activities with his intermittent sneezing. He went down to the kitchen to get breakfast and brought the tissue box with him. Abe was already sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of oatmeal.

"You look awful," said Abe as he looked up from his breakfast.

"I'm fine," said Henry cringing inwardly at how congested his voice was starting to sound. "It seems that this is just going to be one of my allergy-ridden incarnations." He quickly pulled a tissue from the box and sneezed harshly into it.

"Bless you. You sound awful too," Abe replied. "There's some oatmeal for you on the stove."

"Thank you," said Henry both for the blessing and the oatmeal. He poured himself a bowl adding syrup and brown sugar and sat down at the table across from Abe trying his best to eat between sneezes.

Abe shook his head after Henry sneezed for the fifth time since he sat down. "You should take a sick day."

"I'm fine. I told you, it's just allergies. I've got too much work to do."

Abe rolled his eyes. "Yeah like you're going to get so much work done sneezing all over the place. At least take something for it."

Henry nodded. "I will. I'm stopping off at the pharmacy on the way to work." He gasped as the tickle in his nose suddenly flared up and caught three rapid-fire sneezes in a wad of tissues. "If the medicine doesn't work, I'll simply commit suicide tonight. That usually does the trick."

Abe rolled his eyes again and ignored Henry's last comment. "And you've packed a handkerchief?"

"Yes father," Henry replied sarcastically, the irony not lost on either of them. "I've got two in my coat pocket and another four in my briefcase and I'll be purchasing more tissues as well."

Abe nodded finally satisfied. "Very well. Off with you then. If you want to go torture yourself, who am I to stop you?"

Henry chuckled and kissed Abe affectionately on the top of his head secretly pleased that his adopted son fussed over him so much. He put on his coat and scarf and headed off to work.

\------

Jo didn't see Henry when she entered the morgue. There was only Lucas preparing a body that had just been brought in. "Is Dr. Morgan in his office?" she asked him.

"Yes, but I wouldn't go in there if I were you Detective," Lucas warned. "He's having one of his attacks and he's not in the best mood," he said air-quoting the word "attacks".

Jo was about to ask what he meant when she heard the sound of muffled sneezing coming from Henry's office. "Allergies?" she asked.

"Yeah, though to what I have no idea. The man never tells me anything," Lucas grumbled. "Sometimes he just comes in sneezing his head off for no apparent rhyme or reason. Then he holes up in his office as much as possible demanding not to be disturbed unless it's an emergency. I honestly don't know why he just doesn't take the day off when he gets like this."

"Well thanks for the warning, but I think I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself Detective."

Jo smirked. "Don't worry. I can handle him." She knocked gently on Henry's office door. 

"I said I was not to be disturbed," came Henry's annoyed congested voice from the other side of the door followed by a small series of muffled sneezes.

"It's Detective Martinez," said Jo.

"Oh it's you. Very well, come in if you must," Henry answered resignedly.

Jo entered the office closing the door behind her. She tried not to stare but Henry looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy and his nose was awfully red. "You look like hell."

Henry narrowed his eyes. "How kind of you to notice." His breath hitched before sneezing twice into a tissue. He groaned softly before blowing his nose.

"Bless you. Funny, I'd have taken you for someone that uses handkerchiefs over tissues," Jo commented.

"You would be correct in your assumption Detective, however I've already used up all the handkerchiefs I brought with me. All six of them." He rubbed his nose as he felt the need to sneeze again, but it backed down for the time being.

"Yikes, that must be one nasty cold you have," Jo replied feigning ignorance hoping she could get more information out of him that way. "You should really go home and rest before you infect the rest of the staff."

"I do not have a cold. There is no risk of me infecting anyone."

"Not a cold. So what's wrong with you then?"

Henry sighed feeling his patience waning. "I would think that to an officer with your investigative skills it would be painfully obvious that I am suffering from an acute allergic reaction."

Jo couldn't help chuckling a bit. "Let me rephrase that. What are you allergic to?"

"At the moment? Pollen I think. The count is rather high today." Henry grabbed a tissue as the tickle he'd staved off returned in full force and he sneezed harshly into it, paused for a couple of seconds, then sneezed twice more.

Jo frowned. That was an odd answer, but then Dr. Henry Morgan was full of eccentricities. She wondered how many other allergies he had that weren't bothering him "at the moment". She had the strange notion that he might have numerous unusual allergies. She resisted the urge to laugh as she imagined him collecting allergies in much the same way he seemed to collect scarves. "The pollen count has been high for the last several days and you've been fine. Did you just forget to take your meds today?"

"No. My allergies are somewhat erratic. The pollen simply wasn't affecting me until today. I did take some medicine, but as you can see..." he paused to sneeze wetly into another tissue, "it hasn't been one hundred percent effective. I was much worse an hour ago though so it must be doing something. Be glad you waited until now to come to see me."

"Um yeah," Jo mumbled not wanting to imagine the state he was in an hour ago. "Well I hope you feel better soon."

"Thank you. Now did you want something, or did you just come here to gawk at me and interrogate me about my faulty immune system?"

"Oh right," said Jo having almost forgotten why she was there. "I just wanted your opinion on a cold case. It's not urgent." She placed the file on the one spot on his desk that wasn't covered in used tissues. "Just take a look whenever you're feeling up to it."

Henry picked up the file and opened it. It was quite old and had a rather musty smell to it which seemed to aggravate his already irritated nasal passages. He could feel his nose tickling and starting to run as he attempted to scan the first page. He tried to ignore the sensations at first, rubbing and pinching his nose to try to make the feeling back down. If anything this seemed to make things worse. He dropped the file and grabbed a handful of tissues just in time to catch an intense fit of sneezes. They came hard and fast one on top of each other pitching him forward violently in his desk chair.

After the first dozen sneezes, Jo's mouth dropped open in astonishment. She'd never seen anyone sneeze like that before in her life and guessed that this was a glimpse of what he must have been like an hour ago. "Shit, are you going to be ok?"

"I'll live, but barely," Henry answered once he'd managed to stop sneezing. He blew his nose repeatedly before continuing. "Though if I haven't improved by tonight, I might just kill myself," he said repeating the same joke he'd used with Abe that morning.

Jo started to laugh but stopped as she sensed something in his voice that made her think he wasn't entirely kidding. "Yeah well I think that's a case of the cure being worse than the disease."

"That's easy for you to say." In his exhaustion Henry rested his head on his desk in the folds of his crossed arms. He realized this was a big mistake as he caught another whiff of the musty file. He sat up, grabbed some more tissues and sneezed several more times into them blowing his nose wetly when he'd finished.

Jo felt so bad for Henry. The poor guy looked so worn out and miserable that she almost wanted to hug him. "I think you should go home and rest. You're in no condition to be working right now."

Henry waved her off in a dismissive gesture. "I'll be fine. This will pass once the medication takes full effect."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "I think you need new meds."

"Perhaps," Henry agreed. Unfortunately another facet of his condition was that when his allergies changed after dying, sometimes medications that had previously worked well were no longer very effective. Sometimes it would take him up to a week of experimentation before he figured out what medication his body currently best responded to.

"You really need to go home, but you're in no shape to drive. Can your roommate pick you up or do you need a ride?"

Henry was about to protest, but driving to work had been a challenge and that was before his allergies had hit in full force. He sighed in defeat. "Abe will be happy to pick me up, he's used to it," he said referring more to his need for rides after dying and reviving. "You needn't concern yourself."

"Ok give me your keys."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" Henry asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Because I'm a police officer and I'm telling you to," said Jo firmly. "With allergies like yours it might actually be worse than driving drunk and I don't have time to babysit you until your friend gets here to make sure you don't drive."

Henry stifled a sneeze and then chuckled. "Very well Detective." He retrieved his keys from his pocket and handed them over to Jo.

Jo pocketed the keys. "Take care of yourself Henry. Again, there's no rush with that file. It's a fifteen year old case, it can wait a little longer." Henry nodded and then started to sneeze again. Jo wasn't sure if she should just leave or wait for him to finish and say goodbye. Henry waved her off indicating that it wasn't going to stop any time soon, so she turned on her heels and fled the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story before they made it clear that Henry doesn't own a cell phone and doesn't drive, so just think of this as a slightly alternate universe where he does have a phone and drives and covers any other inconsistencies.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feeling somewhat annoyed with Jo checking up on him, Henry decides to play a prank on her which ends up backfiring on him a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Jo looked at her watch. It was two hours since she'd left Henry's office, but she had this nagging feeling that he still hadn't gone home yet. The man could be stubborn and reckless and didn't always know or care what was best for him. Her boss did say she should try to trust her gut instinct more and she was tempted to do a GPS trace on his cell phone, but decided it would be easier just to call his office and see if he answered there first. The phone rang several times and Henry picked up just before the phone would have gone to voicemail.

"Detective, what can I do for you?" Henry answered the phone with an exasperated voice knowing that she was checking up on him.

Jo was startled at first wondering if she should add psychic abilities to his list of quirks but realized he must have caller ID on his office phone. "You can tell me why you're still at work two hours after I told you to go home."

"I'm not a child. You may have the authority to confiscate my car keys if you believe I'm unfit to drive, but I don't have to go home just because you say so." Henry paused thinking he was going to sneeze, but it faded. "For your information I was planning on leaving, but Abe is busy and said he'd get here when he gets here. I believe he's not feeling particularly sympathetic given that he told me not to come in today."

Jo laughed. "Well at least you sound better than you did when I left," she said noting that while he still sounded tired and congested, he did sound much better and she was actually surprised that he hadn't sneezed yet while on the phone.

"Yes I am much better, thank you. I told you I'd be fine once my medicine took full effect. Though perhaps I should try to find something that will work a bit faster. I have considered grinding the pills up into powder and inhaling them to get them into my system faster, but I'm afraid that might cause more than a few misunderstandings." Henry covered the mouthpiece of the phone so that Jo wouldn't hear, and then stifled three sneezes against the back of his wrist. In truth he had improved much once he put on a surgical mask when viewing that musty old file she'd left, and then sealed it up in an evidence bag when he wasn't reading it, but his pollen reaction still hadn't fully abated.

"Yeah, probably not the best idea," Jo agreed.

"I believe I'm well enough now to drive myself home when I'm ready to leave, but you still have my keys. I'd appreciate it if you'd be so kind as to drop them off at the end of your shift. I have a feeling Abe is going to leave me waiting until seven just to teach me a lesson. I would take the subway, but I've been a bit put off of that mode of transportation since the accident."

"Sure, I should there by 5:30, 6:00 at the latest. I'll call you if for any reason I end up being later than that."

"Thank you Detective. I'll see you soon."

\------

Jo made it back to the morgue by 5:45 and it was pretty empty as most of the staff had gone home already. She nodded to Lucas as she passed him in the hallway. When she entered the main storage room she stopped short when she saw Henry lying on one of the exam tables. Her first thought was that he must be taking a nap, that as weird a thing as that would be to do, from him it didn't really surprise her. Yet there was doubt descending over her and she approached the table slowly. He was lying so still and didn't appear to be breathing. "Dr. Morgan wake up. I brought your keys." He didn't respond and she was starting to get a little worried. She shook him gently. "Come on Henry. Wake up so I can give you your keys." She put her cheek next to his face to see if she could feel any breath coming from his mouth or nose. He definitely wasn't breathing. She ran out of the room to find Lucas and found him coming from the bathroom heading back to the storage room. "What the hell happened?" she all but shouted at him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Lucas answered completely bewildered.

"What happened to Dr. Morgan? He was fine when I spoke to him on the phone an hour ago!" said Jo nearly in a panic.

"I really have no clue what you're talking about," Lucas said and followed her back to the storage room. He rolled his eyes when he saw Henry lying on the exam table. "Oh for crying out loud. Dr. Morgan get up."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "You mean he's faking it?"

"Yeah, he pulls this stunt on everyone sooner or later. Scared the shit out of me my first week here," said Lucas. "He is surprisingly good at holding his breath."

Henry continued to hold his breath and lie still hoping to keep up the charade a bit longer. His plans were spoiled though when his allergies flared up again causing him to inhale sharply and sneeze.

"There you see, corpses don't sneeze. You gotta make sure to check his pulse," said Lucas. "I swear Dr. Morgan, if you keep this up no one is going to believe it when you actually do die."

Henry opened his eyes and grinned. "That won't be a problem because I don't plan on ever dying." Of course this was the complete opposite of the truth. He died all the time, it just didn't seem to take. Lucas threw up his arms and left. Henry got up off the hard table and stretched.

Jo smacked him on the arm. "That wasn't funny you bastard."

"That is a matter of opinion, but I'm touched you were so worried about me," said Henry with a twinkle in his eye. "Admit it, you'd miss me if I was gone."

Jo scowled. "I'd miss the use of your brilliant mind, nothing more."

Henry shrugged. "If you say so. May I have my keys now?"

Jo shook her head. "Nope, I'm driving you home."

"What? Why?"

"One, it's your punishment for playing a prank on me and two, your allergies are still acting up."

"It was one sneeze Detective. I hardly think that constitutes a driving hazard. People sneeze all the time while driving even if they don't have allergies and they don't get into accidents," Henry argued.

"Sure it's one sneeze now, in an air-conditioned building, but what's going to happen once you get outside in the pollen filled air?" Jo countered. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you your keys back if you can stand outside for five minutes without sneezing."

"Challenge accepted," said Henry confidently.

"And no holding your breath or breathing through your mouth or you forfeit."

Henry sagged a bit. "Very well." He went into his office, put on his coat and scarf and packed up his briefcase. When they exited the building Jo set the timer on her watch and looked at him expectantly. Henry gulped. Right away he could feel a tingle starting in his nasal passages. He instinctively tried to sniff it away, but of course that just resulted in him inhaling more allergens causing the tingle to turn into a stronger tickling sensation. He gave his nose a good rub as his eyes started to water. Jo couldn't help smirking. She didn't think he'd make it two minutes let alone five. She saw a look of mild panic on Henry's face and knew he was going to sneeze any second now. Henry grabbed some tissues from his pocket and brought them to his face just in time to catch a series of four sneezes. He sighed and blew his nose then disposed of the tissues in a nearby trashcan. "I suppose you win. How long did I last?"

Jo smirked. "You did very well Doctor. You made it a whole minute and fifty-four seconds."

Henry groaned and followed her to her car. He was not looking forward to what was sure to be a sneeze filled ride home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Jo drives Henry home they agree to discuss the case the next day over lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Jo pulled up at the antique shop and walked Henry inside. He didn't sneeze as much as she had expected during the car ride, but enough that she didn't regret her decision to drive him home. She had insisted that they stop off at a nearby drugstore first so he could pick out some different medication to try. She was surprised when he had selected three different brands saying that he would need to experiment and remarked on how many choices there were compared to fifty years ago. It had almost sounded as if he had been speaking from experience, but of course that was impossible. She'd also teased him good-naturedly when he'd tossed several boxes of tissues into the shopping cart as well.

Abe looked up when they entered. "What are you doing here? I was just about to leave to come get you."

"What do you expect when you kept me waiting for over three hours?" said Henry knowing full well that Abe had not been just about to leave since he was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper. He suspected that his son had wanted Jo to drive him home in the hopes that they might develop more than a professional relationship.

"Well you could have called," Abe replied pretending to sulk and winked at Jo when Henry was distracted by a small sneezing fit. "I thought you said you were going to take something for that."

"I did, but its effectiveness was limited. You know I'm always building up a tolerance to medications and have to keep switching them around. I picked up some more on the way home to experiment with," said Henry holding up the pharmacy shopping bag, then muffled two sneezes into his arm.

"Right," said Abe. He wouldn't have worded it quite like that, but he knew his father had stated it that way for Jo's benefit. "Would you like to stay for dinner," he asked her.

"Thanks, but I should go so Henry can rest." She turned to Henry. "Give me a call when you've had a chance to look over that file."

Henry nodded and sneezed again. "From what I've seen so far, there are some definite discrepancies, but I will definitely need some more time to look things over more thoroughly. Perhaps we should discuss it over lunch tomorrow."

"Fine, it's a date. Feel better," Jo said and left.

"Why didn't you kiss her goodnight?" Abe asked.

Henry chuckled. "Because it's generally considered improper to kiss one's colleagues."

"But you two are going on a date tomorrow," Abe pointed out.

Henry rolled his eyes. "You know full well that the term date doesn't always indicate a romantic get-together. This is most definitely work related." Henry pulled a tissue from his pocket as his breath started to hitch and caught of fit of five sneezes in it. He sighed and massaged his sinuses a bit trying to relieve some of the pressure. "Even if I was romantically involved with the Detective, I hardly think she'd want to kiss me in this state."

Abe nodded sympathetically. "Go upstairs and take your pills. I'll lock up and then join you for dinner."

As Henry climbed the stairs up to their shared apartment, he hoped he'd have better luck with the next medication he tried.

\------

Henry arrived at the diner Jo had suggested ten minutes early. He got them a table and tried to relax while he waited. It was a nice place, not too crowded and fairly quiet except for the radio playing 70s and 80s music in the background. He was feeling much better today than yesterday because the on and off rain had washed all of the pollen out of the air. He was lost in his thoughts reviewing the points in the file that he wanted to address with Jo when he noticed that Alphaville's Forever Young came on the radio. He felt his breath catch in his throat as the lyrics brought out painful emotions. It was one of those songs that always got to him because it seemed so fitting to his situation. The next song to come on the radio was Kansas's Carry On Wayward Son which was even worse because it almost felt like that song was written specifically about him. He took some deep breaths to try to calm himself, but the song brought up memories of all the tragedy he'd seen in his long life and how he'd had no choice but to keep carrying on. As tears came to his eyes unbidden, he knew this was why he preferred instrumental music. He quickly wiped the tears away not wanting Jo to see should she turn up soon. Thankfully the next song to come on the radio held no emotional significance for him.

When Jo arrived at the diner she quickly spotted Henry and made her way over to his table. He didn't seem to see her and appeared lost in thought and had a distraught look on his face. "Hey are you alright?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

Henry jumped in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm fine, I was just thinking."

"About the case?" she asked sitting down across from him at the table.

"Yes at first, and then my mind wandered to other matters."

Henry didn't offer any further explanation and Jo decided not to push him, figuring that it probably wasn't any of her business. The waitress came over and took their orders and they discussed the case while waiting for their food to arrive. "So what discrepancies did you notice when going over the file?"

"The victim could not possibly have been killed with the weapon described in the file. It says he was killed with a chef's carving knife, but the wounds were clearly made by a military grade hunting knife. Either the medical examiner on this case was incompetent or they were trying to conceal details of this case." Henry paused to sniff as he felt a faint itch forming in the back of his nose. "Furthermore the file states that the victim was killed by a single assailant, but there were definitely two assailants, one approximately the same height as the victim and the other one about six inches taller. Also the taller assailant was right handed and the shorter one was left handed."

"You got all that just from looking at pictures of the body?" said Jo impressed in spite of herself.

Henry grinned. "It was easy to determine these facts by closely examining the shape and angle of the wounds. Also the victim was a Libra, the taller assailant a Scorpio, and the shorter assailant a Taurus."

Jo shook her head. "Ok now I know you're just messing with me."

Henry laughed. "Perhaps my abilities don't extend quite that far, but I'm telling you this was most likely a cover up and it would be wise to speak with the medical examiner on this case."

"Yeah maybe he was paid off or threatened. I'll look up the guy's info once I get back to the station and then we can go talk to him."

The food arrived and as they ate Henry pointed out a number of other odd details about the case. The faint itch in his nose that had started after Jo arrived seemed to be getting stronger. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but this body was still new to him and it could be anything. He sniffled as he took a sip of his water hoping it would conceal the act.

"Need to sneeze?" Jo asked somewhat amused.

Henry cursed inwardly. Sometimes she was too perceptive for her own good. "It's nothing. I'm..." he trailed off as the itch in his nose surged up. His breath hitched a few times before sneezing forcefully against the back of his arm. He started to lift his head up, but then he sneezed again unexpectedly. He sniffed and rubbed his nose, wondering what he could possibly be reacting to.

"Bless you. I thought the rain would have washed all of the pollen out of the air," Jo commented.

"So did I. I've been fine all day up until now." The itch lingered waxing and waning slightly just below the level needed to make him sneeze. He knew it was just a matter of time before he sneezed again and dug his handkerchief out of his pocket.

"Maybe it's the flowers," said Jo pointing to the small centerpiece on the table. Henry shook his head and muffled three sneezes into his handkerchief. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Fake flowers wouldn't cause a reaction Detective," said Henry chuckling.

"Oh," said Jo flushing slightly wondering how she'd missed that detail. "Maybe you're coming down with something." She leaned across the table to feel Henry's forehead.

Henry jerked back as the scent of Jo's perfume entered his nose. He knew she had worn that perfume around him before in the past. It wasn't overly strong and he never noticed it unless they were in close proximity. He'd never had a problem with it before, but now it was causing his nose to tickle fiercely. He quickly brought the handkerchief to his face and stifled several rapid-fire sneezes. He had hoped to keep as quiet as possible so as not to draw attention to himself in a public place, but stifling the sneezes prevented them from relieving the tickle in his nose. His breath hitched before he succumbed to a series of stronger sneezes that he couldn't completely stifle. He retrieved a small antique box from his pocket, opened it and took a couple of antihistamines from inside. He swallowed them with a gulp of water before sneezing another three times. He hoped that this new medicine would work as well as it had seemed to last night, but it would still take at least half an hour to get into his system. "I think I'm allergic to you Detective."

"What? That's not actually possible is it?" said Jo taken aback.

"Your perfume I mean," Henry clarified and sneezed again.

Jo shook her head. "I wear this stuff all the time and you've never had a problem with it before."

"I know. I told you my allergies are erratic. I could be fine with something one day and have a reaction to it the next and then out of the blue it doesn't bother me anymore, until it does again..." Henry trailed off his breath hitching and then sneezed explosively. He blinked a few times feeling a bit dazed from the force of it.

"That's really not normal you know. You should see a doctor about it," said Jo gently.

Henry sneezed twice more and blew his nose wincing as his handkerchief was starting to become rather sodden. "I don't need to see a doctor, I am a doctor, but if you must know, I've consulted with a number of specialists over the years and they are all equally bewildered about my condition. They can't really do much for me other than perform another allergy test if I start having random attacks, but that's not always helpful since those tests only cover a limited number of triggers." Henry doubted that the specialists would have been able to do anything more for him even if he'd been able to tell them about his immortality and repetitive deaths.

"Was my perfume bothering you yesterday?" Jo asked. "When I arrived at your office you said you were doing better than you were an hour ago, but then you seemed to deteriorate pretty quickly after that."

"Hmm, it's possible, but it's hard say since I was already sneezing my head off. At the time I attributed the increase in my symptoms to the musty old file you brought me. After you left I had to wear a surgical mask in order to read it and seal it up in an evidence bag when I wasn't viewing it." Henry pulled the bag with the file out of his briefcase and returned it to Jo. "It's certainly possible though that it was a combination of your perfume and the file that was affecting me yesterday."

Jo nodded. "So you're allergic to mold too then?"

Henry shrugged. "So it would seem, for the time being at least." He brought the handkerchief to his face and muffled four rapid-fire sneezes.

Jo sighed. "I guess I'd better go try to wash this stuff off." She got up and headed back to the bathroom.

Henry blew his nose and paid for their meals. To his relief his nose started feeling better shortly after Jo left, but he wouldn't be surprised if his allergies started acting up again somewhat once she returned. It would be difficult for her to wash the scent off completely without a full shower and it was likely that some of the smell had been absorbed by her clothes. Sure enough, he sneezed again as soon as she sat back down at the table.

"Sorry, I washed it off the best I could. I guess I'm not wearing perfume to work anymore."

"That's very considerate of you," said Henry touched by her kindness.

"Well we work together on a regular basis and I figure you have enough to deal with without me adding to it. It must suck though. At least people with predictable allergies usually have an easier time avoiding and treating them."

Henry nodded. "If you think what you've seen is bad, well let's just say that constant sneezing is nothing compared to the torture of a skin rash, or the terror of an asthma attack or anaphylactic shock."

Jo's eyes widened. "You've gone into anaphylactic shock before?"

"Yes, from food allergies usually, though there have been other things that have brought it on. It hasn't happened in years, but I still carry one of these just in case." He pulled an epi-pen from his coat pocket and showed it to Jo briefly before replacing it.

"And the food allergies come and go at random too?" Jo asked. Henry nodded and sneezed twice into his handkerchief. "Damn, that must be an awful way to live, never knowing if some new random allergy will kill you."

Henry shrugged. "I try not to let fear rule my life. I just go about my day and I don't think about it." In truth he was much more afraid of a life-threatening reaction happening in front of someone else than the reaction itself in case he did die.

"Well that's a great attitude to have," said Jo realizing a newfound respect for the man. "I should probably get back to the station now and get to work researching that medical examiner. Your reaction seems to be subsiding. Will you be alright to drive?"

Henry nodded. "I'll be fine, Detective. I'm sure I won't be sneezing much once you've left and the medicine I took should be taking effect soon anyway."

Jo smiled and shook her head slightly doubting Henry would admit it even if he wasn't ok to drive, but this time she believed him. "Ok I'll call you once I have something."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Jo are investigating a crime scene when he has a severe allergic reaction and Jo drags him to the ER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Jo was having a much harder time than she had expected tracking down Jonathan Bradford, the medical examiner on the cold case. Apparently he had retired and moved multiple times over the years and she was having trouble finding his current address. In the mean time there were other murders to solve, so she would have to put this case on the back burner for the time being. She was currently in an apartment where the neighbors had reported screaming coming from within and the inside of the bedroom looked rather gruesome. It looked like someone had savagely attacked the bed with a knife. There was some blood, but not nearly as much as would be expected for a murder. It was possible that the attack started here and then continued on in another location.

Henry arrived and frowned as he looked around the room. "Where's the body?"

"There isn't one. Just an apparent crime scene," said Jo.

Henry sighed. "Why did you call me out here in the pouring rain when there's no body? I'm not a CSI."

Jo grinned. "Because you're like my own personal Sherlock Holmes and you often see things that the CSIs miss. Just be glad this attack happened indoors."

Henry chuckled. "Very well Watson, let's see what we have here." He slipped on some gloves and walked around the bed carefully examining the crime scene, poking and prodding things as he went. He looked over the various stab marks in the bed's mattress and pillows and gouges in the wooden headboard as well as the pattern of blood spatter. He shook his head as he came to a conclusion. "I don't believe anything but this bed was attacked here. Yes there is blood but I believe it was self inflicted by the man who stabbed the bed. The pattern of the blood suggests a cult ritual, but without further evidence of any kind of sacrifice I believe the wounded individual you are looking for must be suffering from delusions and quite possibly hallucinations as well. This man should be found and hospitalized as soon as possible for his own safety."

Jo nodded. "Ok well we've already got people searching for him." She made a call and updated the search party that the suspect was probably wounded and mentally unstable.

"It's a shame about the bed. It was an exquisite piece of craftsmanship. These throw pillows and bedspread were antique as well." He picked up one particularly badly slashed pillow and examined it thoughtfully. Without warning a sudden tickle surged up in his nose and he sneezed twice loudly into the arm not holding the pillow. He peered suspiciously at the pillow unsure if that was the cause or if it was something else in the room. It was a down pillow as he could easily see through the ripped fabric. It had been decades since he'd experienced a reaction to feathers and he tentatively sniffed the pillow to be sure. As his nose started tickling again he had his confirmation that it was indeed the feathers. He saw Jo quirking an eyebrow questioningly at him and he pinched and rubbed at his nose trying not to sneeze again.

"Still reacting to the remnants of my perfume or are you allergic to feathers now too?" she asked smirking.

This was starting to get embarrassing. He sniffed and rubbed at his nose again and opened his mouth to utter a denial but his nose had other plans. His breath hitched and then he sneezed violently four times in a row. The pillow fell from his grasp landing hard back onto the bed and a cloud of down feathers rose up from it into the air around him. He coughed a few times and waved at the air in front him trying to clear the feathers away. His nose was tickling badly and running now. He dug his handkerchief out of his pocket and started sneezing repeatedly into it.

"I guess that answers my question. I'll have to remember to add feathers to the list," said Jo teasing. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bedroom still sneezing and led him to the couch in the living room which he collapsed on.

After a few minutes the sneezing started to slow down. He blew his nose and looked up at Jo pathetically wiping the allergic tears from his eyes. "Would you mind getting me some water Detective?" She nodded and went off to the kitchen coming back a couple of minutes later with a tall glass of water. He pulled the antique box containing his allergy medicine from his pocket.

"Are you sure you should be taking more of that Henry? You just had a dose a couple of hours ago," said Jo uncertainly.

Henry shrugged rubbing his nose trying to stave off another fit. "What's the worst that could happen? I'm not likely to die of an overdose from just four pills." He rubbed his nose again and gasped as that seem to increase his need to sneeze and he muffled four rapid-fire sneezes into the back of his wrist. He took the pills from the box and swallowed them with the water and put the box back in his pocket. He sneezed twice more, coughed a few times and then took another gulp of water. "I'm not sure how effective it will be though. I might simply need to sneeze out all of the feather particles that I breathed in."

Jo sighed as she took in his red nose and watery eyes. She sat next to him on the couch and rubbed his back as he had another sneezing fit. She wasn't sure what made her feel the need to comfort him. She just couldn't stand to see him suffering like this. "You're a real hot mess aren't you?"

Henry sniffled and looked at Jo with an amused expression on his face. "I should probably take it as a high compliment that you could find me attractive in this state."

Jo felt herself flushing. "That's not what I meant. I meant you're a disaster waiting to happen."

"There's no need to be embarrassed Detective. I told you that scientifically speaking you are quite attractive. You needn't be self-conscious for thinking the same of me."

Jo rolled her eyes. "You're a real charmer aren't you," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Henry grinned. "Well I have had a lot of practice." He rubbed his nose as the tickles flared up again and sneezed five times against the back of his wrist, sniffed and let out another three harsh sneezes. He blew his nose and drank another sip of water.

"Bless you times a hundred or whatever ridiculous number of times you've sneezed today. Actually consider this a blanket blessing for the rest of the day."

"Thank you Detective." Feeling utterly exhausted he rested his head on Jo's shoulder.

Jo stiffened at first, but then she relaxed and gave him a small one armed sideways hug. "Come on, I should take you home."

Henry nodded. "This will quickly become tiresome though, having to abandon my car and come back for it later. I don't suppose the NYPD would pay for a car service?"

Jo laughed. "Probably not." She noticed that he was absentmindedly fidgeting and rubbing at his hands when he wasn't rubbing at his nose. "Is something wrong with your hands?"

Henry had been so focused on his nasal symptoms that he hadn't even noticed what was going on with his hands. He stopped fidgeting, but then immediately felt the urge to rub them again. "I don't know. I think there's something wrong with these surgical gloves. They feel all hot and tight and itchy and..." he trailed off and then sneezed several times into his handkerchief. He blew his nose and then took off the gloves. His mouth dropped open at what he saw. His hands and wrists were bright red and covered in raised hives. He ran off to the kitchen and ran his hands under cold water in the sink.

Jo followed him and looked grimly at his hands. "That doesn't look good at all."

"The gloves must have been contaminated with something. They'll need to be tested," Henry said and then muffled a trio of sneezes into his arm.

Jo raised an eyebrow. Her guess would have been that he'd developed a sudden latex allergy since no one else had a reaction to the gloves, but it wouldn't hurt to have them tested all the same. "Ok I'll have them sent to the lab." She saw that his nose was really becoming quite red and swollen from all the rubbing and his eyes and cheeks were starting to turn red from where he'd wiped away the allergic tears. Whether it was an allergy to the latex or some sort of chemical burn it looked serious. "I think I'm taking you to the ER instead of home."

"That won't be necessary. I have supplies to treat chemical burns in my home laboratory," Henry protested and then broke off into a sneezing fit that turned into a coughing fit.

Jo frowned. "If it were me, would you let me treat this myself?"

"Of course not. You're not a doctor, though I might treat you myself," he answered and coughed a few more times.

"That cough doesn't sound good either. We're going to the ER. I'm your ride, so you don't really have a choice," Jo insisted.

"Please Detective, I really have no desire to sit around an emergency room waiting room for hours when I can easily treat this at home."

"Don't worry, police escorts usually speed things up, now come on before I handcuff you," she threatened.

"Very well," he said holding his red itchy hands out in a placating manner. "I'll come quietly." He followed her out of the crime scene apartment and down to her car and they drove off toward the hospital. The ride felt like it was taking forever. He kept sneezing and coughing throughout the ride. On top of the reaction to the feathers, Jo's car smelled like her perfume which was really exacerbating matters. He couldn't even open the window because it was still raining. He'd soaked through the two handkerchiefs he had on him. He hadn't brought any more than that and didn't have any tissues either because he thought he wouldn't need them due to the rain. Even the two handkerchiefs and the medicine he'd only brought with him at Abe's insistence. Luckily Jo had a few travel packs of tissues in her glove compartment, which she had firmly denied were for his benefit. He groaned and blew his nose after a particularly harsh sneezing fit.

"I know you keep an epi-pen on you," said Jo, "but do you carry an inhaler as well?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"You just sound like you're wheezing a bit. Well we'll be at the hospital soon. And stop scratching," she scolded.

Henry was wondering if he should just sit on his hands at this point. That was the fourth time she'd told him to stop scratching. He wasn't doing it on purpose but his hands and face itched badly and he kept doing it absentmindedly. "I'm not wheezing, I'm just congested," he tried to assure her though he did feel slightly out of breath, but that was easily explained by being trapped in an enclosed space with her perfume.

They pulled up at the ER parking lot and Jo found a parking spot not too far from the entrance. "Before we go in, have you considered the possibility that you have an allergy to latex and that's why you reacted to the gloves?"

"That's absurd, I'm a medical examiner. I use those gloves almost every day."

"Hey, you're the one with the erratic allergies," she reminded him. "I just want to make sure you mention the possibility to the hospital doctors so they will take precautions and use latex-free gloves around you just to be on the safe side."

"Fine, duly noted," said Henry with a sigh. "I really hope you're wrong though."

"So do I Henry, so do I."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry gets checked out at the hospital, but he's not the most cooperative patient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

True to her word Jo had managed to get him through registration and triage fairly quickly and he now had a room in the ER and was wearing a hospital identification bracelet and a bright red allergy alert bracelet on his left wrist. He was grateful as his sneezing and coughing was earning him a lot of unwanted stares in the waiting room. Half the people there probably thought he had the plague. "That was impressive Detective. Is this something you'd do for all of your colleagues or am I special?"

"Well you're certainly special, but yeah I'd do this for any colleague. Well most of them anyway," said Jo grinning.

Henry nodded and grabbed some tissues from the box on his lap and sneezed twice harshly into them then tossed them into the trashcan Jo had placed next to his bed. "I suppose you can leave now. I'm sure they need you for the investigation."

"No they don't need me. You did rule the situation as not being a homicide so they can handle things without me. Besides the Lieutenant would rather I stay and make sure nothing happens to the best medical examiner we've ever had."

"So you've basically been assigned babysitting duty?"

Jo nodded and laughed. "Yeah I guess so. Someone's got to stay and make sure you don't scratch the rashes." She reached over and pulled Henry's right hand away from where it was rubbing at his left wrist.

"It's these hospital bracelets. They're chafing," Henry complained and muffled a sneeze into his arm. "By the way, please don't be offended but I can't ride home in your car when we're done here. In fact I won't be able to ride in your car at all until it's had a good airing out or I find some better medication." Jo just looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "Your car smells of your perfume," he explained.

"Oh damn, I'm sorry Henry. I should have thought of that," said Jo apologetically. "Why didn't you say something? I thought all the sneezing was just from a reaction to the feathers and the latex. We should have taken your car."

Henry shrugged. "I was a bit preoccupied before we got in your car so the possibility of it retaining the scent of your perfume hadn't even occurred to me. By the time I realized the problem we'd already driven away and there was no point mentioning it because I couldn't exactly open the windows due to the rain."

"You idiot. If you'd said something, I could have turned around and we could have switched cars. There was no need for you to suffer the whole ride to the hospital." Jo shook her head. "You might be a genius in a lot of areas, but I swear sometimes common sense is lost on you."

Henry sniffed and then muffed a small fit of sneezes into a wad of tissues. "I'm not exactly at my best right now. I can't help it if my cognitive abilities are impaired."

"I'm going to go call Abe for you. I'm sure he'd want to know that you're here anyway." Jo stepped out in the hallway to make the call. When she came back a nurse was drawing blood from Henry and he had a look of barely concealed fear on his face. When the nurse finished drawing the blood she inserted an IV and informed Henry that someone would be in soon to perform an allergy test and then left. "What's wrong? You couldn't possibly have a fear of blood in your line of work."

Henry grabbed some tissues and let out the sneezes he'd been holding back the whole time his blood was being drawn. He sneezed five times rapid-fire into the tissues and blew his nose before answering. "I just don't like having my blood drawn by strangers. I've had some rather unpleasant experiences. I offered to draw it myself but the nurse wouldn't let me. I have no idea what they needed so much of my blood for. I swear the nurse nearly took enough for a transfusion," Henry complained.

Jo laughed. "Doctors really are the worst patients. Now stop scratching or I swear to god I'll handcuff you to the bed railing."

Henry sighed and lowered his hand from his cheek. "It would easier not to scratch if I had some topical lidocaine to numb the itching. I asked the nurse for some but it seems I'm not allowed any kind of medication until after the allergy testing. I'd settle for ice at this point. Did you get through to Abe?"

Jo shook her head. "No I just got his voicemail. I left a message, but I'll try back in a bit."

"Hmm, if he's in the middle of a chess game he might not check his messages for awhile. He might answer his phone if he sees my number on the call identification though." Henry pulled out his phone to try calling Abe himself, but a technician came in to perform the allergy testing. The test took longer than previous allergy tests he'd had done, both because of his nasal interruptions, and because they were doing more thorough testing than was usually performed at a doctor's office. In addition to the standard scratch test, they also injected various allergens under the skin. The technician set a timer and left. Hives started popping up very soon on multiple spots on his arms and he felt himself squirming involuntarily. "As if I wasn't itchy enough already..." he trailed off and muffled a set of four sneezes into a tissue.

Jo smiled sympathetically and patted his hand. "It'll be over soon and then you'll get some medicine to make it go away." She pulled her hand away when Henry tried to rub his hand against hers to alleviate some of the itching. "Nope, nice try though." While they waited she went out in the hall and tried calling Abe again using Henry's phone this time. As Henry had predicted Abe picked up right away. She told him what was going on and he started asking her all these medical questions that she couldn't answer until she finally told him to just get down to the hospital so he could ask Henry himself. When she came back into the room the technician had returned and was examining all of the hives on Henry's arms and making notes.

"I take it he actually answered the phone this time?" Henry asked grinning when he saw the frustrated look on her face.

"Yes. He started interrogating me about your condition, until I cut him off and told him to just come down here and see for himself."

Henry laughed. "That's Abraham all right, always the worrier. He's rather like a father to me." Henry was surprised to find that he meant it. He wasn't sure when their roles toward each other had reversed, but it was probably sometime after Abe had turned fifty. It was certainly easier to play it that way for the benefit of others anyhow based on outward appearances. He recalled that he used to tell people they were like brothers when they had appeared much closer in age.

The technician finished her examination. "Well it appears you definitely have an allergy to latex Dr. Morgan and a bunch of other things as well. The skin testing might not be entirely accurate since you have had antihistamines in your system, but you probably have to worry about false negative results more than false positives. The blood panel will confirm the results of the skin test. When that comes back a doctor will go over the results with you." She applied ointment to Henry's hands, arms, and face, and injected some medication into his IV as well as hooking him up to a saline drip. "I hope you feel better soon Doctor." Henry thanked her and she left.

"Dear god, tell me this isn't happening," Henry moaned covering his face with one hand.

Jo didn't even have the heart to gloat over the fact that she'd been right. "Hey, it'll be alright. You'll just use latex-free gloves from now on. No big deal."

"I know, it's just frustrating." He closed his eyes. The medication was starting to make him groggy as it worked its way through his bloodstream.

"Get some rest Henry. I'm sure Abe will be here soon."

\------

Henry was jolted awake with a sneeze. It seemed like that happened every time he started to doze off. The medication had reduced his sneezing considerably, but hadn't eliminated it altogether. At least the itching in the rash and hives had greatly diminished. He glanced over at Jo who was still sitting in a chair next to his bed and smiled.

Jo smiled back. "How are you holding up?"

"Better I think. The itching has much improved. I only wish I could fall asleep. I'm so tired."

"At least you're only sneezing one or two at a time now."

"Yes there is that," Henry conceded.

Abe entered the room and shook his head at Henry. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

Henry's face lit up. "Ah Abraham at last! Take me home."

"We'll leave when the doctors say you can leave," said Abe firmly.

"I'm a doctor and I say I can leave," Henry insisted. "This is all overkill." He made a wide dismissive gesture that seemed to include everything from his IV to the entire room.

Abe rolled his eyes and looked at Jo questioningly. "The attending physician thinks he'll probably be fine but wants to keep him overnight for observation just as a precaution since latex allergies can be serious," Jo explained. "Of course Henry is being a stubborn idiot and won't sign the admission forms."

Abe frowned. "Latex allergy? Aren't those protective gloves made of latex? How is he going to do his job?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. He'll just switch to latex-free gloves and he'll have to bring his own to crime scenes."

Henry grabbed a tissue and sneezed twice into it. "Just take me home. I'll commit suicide and then I'll be good as new in the morning."

"He doesn't know what he's saying. They've got him on some pretty strong medication," Jo tried to reassure Abe when she saw the look of wide-eyed horror on his face.

Abe shook his head. "This is nothing new. I just didn't know he joked like this in front of anyone else. It's going to get him into trouble one day."

"Yeah tell me about it," said Jo. "I had a hard time convincing the attending physician not to put him on a psych hold. I just explained that he's an ME with a morbid sense of humor. Though in hindsight maybe I should have let him."

Abe nodded and turned back to Henry. "You're staying and that's final. Do I make myself clear young man?"

Henry burst out laughing hysterically. "Ok ok, you win. You'll have to entertain me though."

"What do you think this is for?" Abe held up a travel chess set. "We'll play once they admit you and move you to a proper hospital room."

Jo raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure what was so funny, but she was glad that Abe was able to persuade Henry where she had failed. She picked up the paperwork where it was resting next to the sink and handed it to Henry. He signed it and she walked it over to the nurse's station. After Henry had been moved out of the ER and got settled in his room Abe set up the chess board on Henry's lap. It was amusing watching the two of them play, seeing the looks of intense concentration on their faces as they planned their moves. Henry was still sneezing intermittently, but it was a major improvement from earlier.

Henry grinned and moved a piece on the chess board. "And I believe that's check mate."

Abe's eyes widened. "Even drugged up you still beat me." Turning to Jo he said, "You'd think he'd let an old man win every once in awhile."

Henry's breath hitched and he sneezed into a tissue. He blew his nose and tossed the tissue into the trashcan. "Would you care for a game Detective?"

Jo smiled. "I think I'll pass. Chess isn't really my thing. I'm afraid I wouldn't be much of a challenge for you."

Henry yawned. "It's getting harder to stay awake. Who knows, you might actually beat me."

"I bet you'd let her win," Abe muttered under his breath.

"It's probably best if you try to sleep now," said Jo gently. Henry nodded and closed his eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of him," Abe said after he was sure that Henry was asleep. "He needs someone in his life. I won't be around forever."

"Um I think you might have the wrong idea," said Jo. "We're not together, we're just colleagues."

"Maybe not now, but in a few months who knows," said Abe dismissively. "You care about him, I can tell. Even if you only become good friends, that's still something."

Jo nodded. "I think friendship is about all I can handle right now."

Abe smiled. "Well it's getting late and I'm sure you need your beauty rest too. Go on home, I'll stay with him."

"Ok I'll check in on him tomorrow," said Jo and left hoping that he'd be all better in the morning and that he'd find something to help him manage his other allergies better as well.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry finally decides to commit suicide as a way to try to deal with his allergies and he has an awkward encounter afterward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Henry had a strange sensation in his throat. He was sick and it had been sore for days but this was different. It started as a tickle causing him to cough and water didn't seem to help. Then his throat actually started to feel tight and before he knew it he couldn't breathe. He collapsed and lost consciousness, but instead of waking up in water as he'd expected he was in a hospital bed with Abe shaking him.

"You were having a nightmare," said Abe. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Henry blinked a few times and looked around the room to make sure they were alone. "I was dreaming about the first time I died from anaphylaxis. Not one of the best ways to die."

Abe nodded. "That was brought on by penicillin right?"

"Yes, I was being treated for strep throat at the time. At least after I died I wasn't allergic to it anymore and the strep had cleared up." Henry closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "You do realize I'm going to have to do something about this latex allergy. It's really not just a matter of switching to latex-free gloves. Sometimes the bodies I work with have latex on them in one form or another and there are other situations where I might be exposed to it. It might have only caused a rash and sneezing this time, but it could become worse upon further exposure. An epi-pen isn't always enough to keep me alive until medical help can arrive and I can't risk dying in public. Better to take care of it in a controlled manner. We could have taken care of it last night if you'd taken me home when I asked you to."

"I know," said Abe with a sigh. "I was just hoping to avoid it. I also thought it would look strange to your detective friend if I let you check yourself out of the hospital against medical advice."

"Yes there is that. I did try to get her to leave long before you arrived, but apparently Lieutenant Reece instructed her to stay and make sure nothing happened to me," Henry paused to rub at his nose which had started to itch, "or so she says." He sneezed three times into his arm. Abe blessed him and passed him the tissue box and he blew his nose. "I think the medication they gave me yesterday is starting to wear off. At least the rash is fading." Henry examined his hands and they were only a light red color now with a bit of residual itching.

"The sun is shining and it's going to be another high pollen count day," said Abe.

"Wonderful." Henry sneezed again and groaned.

"Don't even think about going in to work today once you get out of here."

Henry shook his head. "I wasn't. I need to go down to the medical supplies warehouse. I want to set up my own allergy testing kit. I think it would be a good idea to test myself after each death so I'll be better prepared. I can custom add to it over time to check for everything I've ever been allergic to. Of course I won't be able to test for chemical sensitivities such as fragrances or cleaning products, but it will still be better than the wait and see approach. Who knows, maybe I'll even learn more about my condition by cross referencing my allergies with cause of death."

"That does sound like a good plan," Abe agreed.

They played chess to pass the time until an orderly came in with Henry's breakfast and Abe left to get his own breakfast from the hospital cafeteria. When he was about halfway through his meal a doctor came in to go over the results of skin and blood tests and gave him his discharge papers and some prescriptions for a few different allergy medications to try. The doctor seemed disconcerted at the frequency Henry was sneezing and told him to follow up with an allergist. When the doctor left, Henry read through the results again. In addition to a moderately severe latex allergy, the tests also showed he had severe allergies to three types of grass, two types of ragweed, two types of mold, and a minor dust allergy. He didn't see feathers listed anywhere and it appeared that it wasn't even tested for. This was precisely why he needed to build his own allergy testing kit.

Henry finished his breakfast and signed his discharge papers, then changed out of the hospital gown and back into his clothes. He called a nurse to give the discharge papers to who removed his IV and told him an orderly would be there soon to wheel him down to the hospital entrance. He nodded resignedly. There was no reason he couldn't walk out on his own but he knew they had to do it for liability reasons. When the orderly showed up with the wheelchair, Henry put on his coat and scarf, called Abe to let him know it was time to leave, and dejectedly let himself be wheeled away.

Henry felt the tickling in his nose increase as soon as he and Abe exited the hospital building. He really couldn't catch a break. He sniffled a few times trying to delay things as much as possible. As they entered the parking garage Abe pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and passed it to him giving him a look as if to say 'just let it out already'. He blew his nose hoping that would help clear the tickles out, but that just seemed to irritate his sinuses more. He inhaled sharply and then sneezed twice into the handkerchief.

"Bless you," said Abe. "We'd better get those prescriptions filled."

Henry sneezed again and nodded. "Yes hopefully one of them will be marginally more effective than the over the counter medications."

\------

Henry waited on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs next to the pharmacy counter in the drugstore while he waited for his prescriptions to be filled. Abe had driven him to where he'd left his car the day before and he'd driven himself there. Abe was hesitant to let him drive but relented when he promised to be extra careful. He had to get back and open up the shop anyway. It was tricky trying to drive when he had to sneeze every couple of minutes, but luckily traffic was slow, plus he'd had plenty of practice from past bodies in which he'd suffered bad allergies. He rubbed his nose as the need to sneeze came upon him again and then his phone started ringing. He glanced at the display and saw that it was Jo calling and answered it. "One moment Detective..." He did his best to cover the mouthpiece and then sneezed forcefully into his handkerchief.

"Bless you," said Jo. "The hospital told me you had been discharged, but I guess you're still not one hundred percent."

"Indeed and I hope you're not calling about a work related matter. I've decided to do the sensible thing and take the day off." He heard a crash on the phone. "Detective? Is everything alright?"

"That was me falling over from shock," Jo answered teasingly.

Henry rolled his eyes knowing that she'd probably just knocked over a trashcan for the sound effect. "Look if this is about a case you'll have to meet me at the pharmacy near the antique shop. I'm getting some prescriptions filled."

"No, no case. I was just checking in. I'm glad you're trying to take it easy and I promise not to bother you with any cases unless absolutely necessary."

"The rash is mostly gone," Henry paused and stifled three sneezes into his handkerchief, "but I'm still battling the hay fever. Thank you for your concern."

"Well I've got a bit of a soft spot for people who save my life, especially those that have done it more than once," Jo replied jokingly.

Henry grinned. "Then I shall make a point of saving your life on a regular basis."

Jo laughed. "Only if I get to save your life too. Well I gotta get going. I hope the new meds work out and you feel better soon."

"Thank you Detective, so do I." Shortly after he'd hung up the phone his name was called. He paid for the prescriptions along with a new supply of tissues. He really needed to stock up on some more handkerchiefs. Once he got in his car he went through the various prescriptions he'd had filled. One was a topical medication which he opened up and applied to his hands to take care of the remnants of the rash. There were two different oral medications for him to try. He picked one at random and swallowed the pills dry. The last prescription was for a nasal spray. He wished he'd paid more attention. If he had realized that the last prescription was for a nasal spray he wouldn't have gotten it filled. While his response to oral medications tended to vary randomly, his response to nasal sprays was invariably the same. They seemed to do nothing more than act as an irritant to his sensitive nose and gave him the most awful sneezing fits. Though this was one he had not tried before. Perhaps he would give it a chance at a later time. The worst that could happen was that he'd sneeze to death.

\------

Henry managed to find everything he needed at the medical supplies warehouse and set everything up in his basement laboratory when he got home. When he was done he tried to help Abe in the shop, but Abe had shooed him upstairs saying his sneezing was scaring off the customers and that he should be resting anyway. He resigned himself to a day of reading and tried to enjoy himself as best he could with his allergies knowing he was going to die that night. He was restless though and had even called Lucas at one point out of boredom and also because he still had his doubts about his colleague's competency. Lucas had assured him that he and the other MEs had everything under control so he had no excuse to go in to work.

That night Abe had prepared a fabulous meal for him with his favorite dessert. "I suppose I should eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow I shall die." Abe just shook his head and rolled his eyes at the quote. Henry knew Abe had gone all out because he was scared that this time he'd die permanently. After dinner they played a couple of games of chess, Henry still winning every time. After midnight they both knew they couldn't put it off any longer and headed down to the basement. Henry placed an IV in his left arm, got undressed and lay down on the exam table covering himself with a blanket. Abe sat on a stool next to the table and picked up the syringe that contained the lethal dose of opiates that would kill him but hesitated to inject it into his IV. "Don't worry Abraham. Everything will be fine like it always is."

"I know, but it's still painful to kill your own father even if you know he'll simply come back to life." Abe kissed Henry on the forehead and injected the syringe into the IV.

"Head down to the river as soon as my body vanishes," said Henry taking his son's hand in his. Abe nodded knowing the routine. He'd already packed up his car with a change of clothing and towels. They held hands as Henry drifted off to sleep. This was one of the better ways to die. He'd just fall asleep in a state of euphoria and wouldn't even be aware of his body shutting down. He smiled as images of Abigail and Abe as a young boy filled his head and then there was nothing. He awoke in water as he always did and swam to the surface. He took a deep breath as he broke through the surface of the water. He floated for a few minutes just enjoying the water and then started to make his way toward the shore.

Jo was driving but she wasn't sure where she was going. She had just left the bar where she was having a drink with her coworkers. She hadn't really felt like going, but her boss had insisted saying it would help her relax. She couldn't drink enough to take her mind off of her dead husband and still drive, so she left early. She didn't feel like going home though so she just drove. She suddenly had a feeling she should drive along the Hudson River and as she was driving she saw a man emerge from the water making his way up the bank. Jo stopped the car. The man appeared to be naked, but it was hard to tell in the dark, and as much she didn't feel like dealing with this right now, it was her duty as a police officer to make sure nothing illicit was going on. She got out of the car and walked toward the man and shined her flashlight on him. Yep he was definitely naked. He squinted in the bright light and covered his groin with his hands.

"Detective?" said Henry recognizing Jo as the one holding the flashlight. He felt himself blushing and was absolutely mortified that she had found him in this state, but at least it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if she'd witnessed his death.

"Henry? What the hell are you doing?" Jo shouted.

"I'm looking for my clothes, though I'm not quite sure where I left them," Henry lied. Jo shook her head and took off her jacket and handed it to him. He tied the jacket around his waist. "Thank you Detective."

"Do you want to tell me why the hell you were skinny dipping in the Hudson River late at night?" Jo asked in an exasperated tone.

"Lucas asked for my help with a drowning case. I was looking for evidence," Henry answered knowing it was a weak story, but it was the first thing he could come up with.

"Are you sure that's the story you want to go with?" said Jo knowing full well he was lying. "I can and will check on that tomorrow. This is crazy even for you under normal circumstances, but you just got out of the hospital and going for a swim at night in cold water is the last thing you need."

Henry nodded. "Yes I know." He sniffled as his nose started to tickle. He wasn't sure if it was the cool night air, if he'd gotten some water up his nose, or if this new body was allergy-ridden as well. Dying certainly would have cleared out any medication that had been left in his system. He quickly brought his arm up to his face and sneezed three times into it.

"Bless you. Come on, I think I've got some towels in the trunk of my car. The last thing you need is to get sick right now."

Henry followed Jo back to her car sneezing a couple more times on the way. He'd definitely need to do that allergy test as soon as he got home. Jo opened her trunk and pulled out a large towel and handed it to him and he started drying himself off. "Thank you Detective." When he finished drying off he tied the towel around his waist and returned the jacket to Jo.

Jo tossed the damp jacket in the trunk. "Seriously Henry, what were you doing out here? Did you have some kind of weird reaction to your new meds?"

"Perhaps. I was thinking about Abigail. We used to go swimming here long ago. We were young and in love," said Henry lying again. At least this lie had elements of the truth and those were usually the most convincing lies. He used to go for naked moonlight swims with Abigail but not in the city. They'd gone swimming out in the country where they'd had more privacy. "I've had a rough couple of days and I suppose I just wanted to relive those memories and imagine she was with me in the water."

"Oh Henry, I'm sorry. I know what that's like." She patted him on the shoulder in a feeble attempt at comfort. "Next time bring a bathing suit, ok?"

"Yes Detective, I'll try to keep that in mind." His breath hitched and he muffled a small fit of sneezes into the back of his wrist.

"Where'd you park your car?"

"I walked here. I just started walking aimlessly and found myself here," he answered.

Jo nodded. "Funny how that happens. I was just driving aimlessly and found myself here as well. I'd give you a ride home, but I'm not sure my car has aired out enough yet."

"Well let's see." Henry opened the passenger side door of Jo's car and stuck his head inside and sniffed tentatively. Her car did still smell like perfume. The smell wasn't nearly as strong as it had been, but it was still noticeable. He had hoped that his death would rid him of this particular sensitivity, but as his nose started tickling he knew that he had not been so lucky. He pulled his head out the car, closed the door, and let out four harsh sounding sneezes.

"Yep this isn't going to work. I'll call Abe for you."

"No need, he should be along soon. He knew I was going out."

"How will he know where you are though?" Jo asked.

Henry grinned. "Oh he knows my habits quite well."

Jo wasn't sure if this meant that Henry came walking here often, or if going swimming naked and then losing his clothes was something that happened on a regular basis. She decided she didn't want to know. Sure enough a car pulled up and Abe was sitting in the driver's seat. "Yes clearly he does. Goodnight Henry."

"Goodnight Detective." He watched as she got in her car and drove away then walked over to Abe's car. He grabbed a sweatshirt and sweatpants from the back seat, put them on and then climbed into the passenger seat next to Abe, closed the door and put on his seatbelt.

"What was she doing here?" Abe asked.

Henry shrugged. "It was quite the coincidence."

"Or maybe it was fate," said Abe with a wink.

Henry sneezed and grabbed some tissues from the glove compartment and blew his nose. "Fate... I don't know about fate anymore."

"You didn't tell her did you?"

Henry shook his head. "Of course not. I do feel I can be more open with the Detective than I've been able to with anyone in a long time, but not nearly enough to feel safe telling her the truth about me."

"You may have to someday, especially if you keep working so closely with her. She's bound to notice something," Abe pointed out. He also knew that Henry would need someone to help him after he was gone, but knew this wasn't the time to bring that up.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Let's go home."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry's suicide partially backfires and he continues to struggle with his allergies as he and Jo take on a new strange case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Henry performed an allergy skin test on himself after they got home. He sighed in defeat as he examined all of the hives that had popped up on his arms and wrote the results down. It appeared that he was no longer allergic to latex, so he'd accomplished what he set out to do, but none of the other things that he'd tested positive to the previous day had gone away. In addition to the grass, ragweed, mold, dust, and feather allergies, he was now testing positive for miscellaneous tree and weed pollens and cats as well. He was starting to wonder whether it had been worth it and only hoped that this body responded better to medication than the previous one did. He applied ointment to his arms to help with the itchy hives, then left his laboratory and went upstairs to the kitchen to update Abe.

"So what's the verdict?" Abe asked.

"It seems that my plan partially backfired. The latex allergy is gone, which is good, but I'm still testing positive for a lot of other allergens." He grabbed some tissues from the box on the kitchen counter and sneezed forcefully into them three times in a row, then handed the list he'd written out to Abe to read over.

Abe frowned as he read the list. "Well the important thing is that the latex allergy is gone and I don't see anything else on the list that would be likely to be life threatening."

"Yes as far as we know, but based on how many things I've tested positive to, I'd say the chances are likely that I'll encounter things I'm allergic to that aren't on the list. It's virtually impossible to test for everything one could possibly be allergic to," Henry replied and sneezed again.

Abe nodded. "Try not to obsess over it. Just take something and go to bed. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a medication that works better for you this time around."

"One can only hope. Goodnight Abe." Henry kissed Abe on the top of his head and went up to his bedroom. He got ready for bed and then looked through his arsenal of assorted allergy medications. He finally selected one that tended to be quite sedating and swallowed a couple of pills with a glass of water. He figured that it would at least knock him out even if it didn't do anything for his symptoms.

\------

When Henry woke up the next morning he wasn't feeling too bad. He was congested and his nose itched, but he was only sneezing sporadically. He took some more medicine and packed a bunch of tissues and handkerchiefs in his briefcase just in case before heading off to work. He was actually starting to feel somewhat optimistic by the time he arrived at the morgue and thought maybe things wouldn't be too bad. When he entered his office he was greeted with a peculiar sight. There was a bouquet of white roses with a card on his desk. At first he thought it might be a get well gesture from Jo, but he quickly dismissed that idea thinking it would be highly unlikely that she would send flowers knowing the nature of his allergies. He smiled sadly at the flowers recalling that Abigail had been quite fond of roses and white ones in particular. He opened the card and read it. It said:

     Dear Henry,

     My deepest sympathies for your most recent death. Cheer up though. You know as well as I do that suicide is never the answer.

     Yours Forever,

     Adam

Henry stared at the card and reread it a couple of times. How did Adam know that he'd committed suicide last night? He usually only seemed to know about his deaths that occurred outside of his residence. He'd have to check the whole building for bugs and hidden cameras. And how did he know what Abigail's favorite flowers were? Perhaps that part was just coincidence, but he was still suspicious. He tucked the card into his briefcase to file away later with the rest of his notes on Adam. He figured he should at least try to enjoy the flowers. He picked up the bouquet and brought the flowers to his face taking in the sweet aroma letting it bring back fond memories. He quickly realized this was a foolish thing to do as his nose started to tickle badly. He dropped the bouquet back on his desk and rubbed his nose while cursing his allergies for preventing him from enjoying something that reminded him of happy times from his past. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and brought it to his face just in time to catch a fit of several sneezes. He blew his nose and then grabbed the bouquet and went out to where Lucas was reading the file on a body that had just been brought in. "Did you see who left these flowers on my desk?"

"Nope, I just got here," Lucas answered. "Maybe you've got a secret admirer?"

"More like a secret torturer," said Henry and muffled three sneezes into his arm. "Would you please dispose of them for me?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure Boss? They're very pretty. It would be a shame to throw them out."

"Yes I know, but..." Henry trailed off and sneezed again.

"Ok ok, I get the picture." Lucas took the bouquet from Henry and went to take them to the garbage dumpsters behind the building.

Henry sneezed a few more times and blew his nose. He wondered how much Adam knew about his allergies and wondered if it had been his intention to try to cause a reaction. When he felt he had sufficiently recovered he looked over the file that Lucas had been reading. When he had familiarized himself with it he started to pull some surgical gloves from the box when Lucas came running into the room.

"Doctor Morgan stop!" Lucas shouted as he ran, then tripped and fell into Henry causing both of them to crash to the floor.

"Lucas," Henry said, then took a deep breath trying to reign in his anger, "would you care to explain just what you thought you were doing?"

"Um saving your life?" Lucas answered. He got up, brushed himself off, then helped Henry up. "Detective Martinez called and told me that you'd been hospitalized for a reaction to latex and that I should switch out the gloves here for latex-free ones. I haven't had a chance to do it yet."

Henry rubbed his left hip which had taken the brunt of the impact. "And you thought tackling me was the best way to achieve this?"

"That was an accident. I meant to knock the box away but I tripped," Lucas explained.

"And what was wrong with informing me verbally?"

"I panicked?"

Henry shook his head. "As it turns out, the hospital made a mistake. It wasn't the latex I was reacting to," he lied. "Even if it was, all you would have saved me from was a bad rash."

"I'm sorry," said Lucas. "When she said you had been hospitalized I assumed it was something more serious than that."

"Do you really think I would be so careless if I had a life threatening condition?" Lucas started to answer but Henry waved him off. "Nevermind, we have work to do." The morning was largely uneventful. There were three suspicious deaths that turned out to be accidental and one suicide. His allergies were still bothering him but the medication he had taken seemed to reduce his symptoms a great deal. He still sneezed from time to time but nothing so bad as what he was like the previous three days. He wasn't sure how well the medicine would hold up outside in the pollen filled air, but at least it was allowing him to do his job with few interruptions indoors. Just as Henry was finishing up lunch in his office Jo stopped by.

"Hey Henry. You look like you're feeling better," said Jo.

"Yes, thank you Detective. I wouldn't say that I'm one hundred percent better, but at least I'm functional," Henry answered.

"You know," said Jo barely concealing a smirk, "it might be time to start calling me by my first name after what happened last night."

Henry cringed inwardly and felt himself blushing a bit. "Very well, Jo. I shall try to remember to call you by your given name more often if you agree not to mention the events of last night again."

"Deal," said Jo, "though at some point you're going to have to tell me how you got that scar on your chest. Anyway we've got a body and it's rather strange. I think it might be just up your alley."

Henry quirked an eyebrow. "Strange how?"

"Well I haven't seen it yet, but from what Hanson says it seems like it's covered in an assortment of ancient writings," said Jo. "He mentioned Egyptian hieroglyphs but didn't know what the others were."

"I'm officially intrigued." Henry put on his coat and scarf and followed Jo out to her car sniffling as the pollen in the air started to work on his nasal passages. He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and sneezed twice into it. "Perhaps we should take my car. As you can see I'm still in search of a medication that completely suppresses my allergies."

"It's ok, I had my car detailed this morning so the perfume smell should be gone."

Henry's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe how she seemed to be bending over backwards to accommodate him. It was already a big enough gesture that she'd given up wearing perfume, but to actually spend money so he'd be more comfortable... "You did that for me? I don't know what to say."

Jo shrugged. "It needed to be done anyway, you just gave me the motivation to stop putting it off."

Henry raised an eyebrow. He didn't recall her car being particularly messy, but decided not to press the issue. "Well regardless, thank you." They got in the car and Henry immediately sneezed again.

"Hmm maybe I should ask for my money back," said Jo.

Henry shook his head. "It's not the car. I'm just..." he trailed off and sneezed another three times into his handkerchief.

"Allergic to the air?"

Henry laughed and nodded. "That's certainly one way of putting it. What's in the air at any rate. This attack was starting before I got in the car."

Jo turned on the air conditioning hoping it would help and drove off toward the crime scene. "I hope you'll be ok at the crime scene. The body was found in the middle of a park."

Henry sighed. "I'm sure I'll survive." His sneezing slowed down after the air conditioning had been on for a few minutes, but as soon as they arrived and exited the car he felt the tickling in his nose flare up strongly again. It seemed that the area had recently been mowed and the air was heavy with pollen and the smell of cut grass. He sneezed five times in rapid succession and blew his nose as he felt it starting to run.

"Bless you," said Jo smiling sympathetically. "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"As I said, I will survive. I'm not about to let a bit of sneezing prevent me from doing my job," Henry answered rubbing his nose. He figured it couldn't hurt to take another dose of antihistamines and felt around in his pockets for his pill box. He quickly realized that he'd left it back at his office in his briefcase. He muffled three sneezes into his handkerchief and sighed knowing he'd have to manage as best he could.

"A bit of sneezing?" said Jo incredulously. "That's the understatement of the year. By the way, what happened to your leg?" she asked noticing that he was walking with a slight limp.

"It's nothing, just a bit of a mishap at the morgue," Henry answered barely even noticing the pain and stiffness in his left leg. He rubbed at his eyes which were starting to become itchy and watery. They made their way over to where Detective Hanson was supervising a bunch of CSIs. The body had been dumped behind a bush. The face and hands had been badly burned to make identification more difficult. The dead man was naked from the waist up and covered with writing in an assortment of ancient languages. What really caught Henry's attention was that there were white roses strewn around the victim's head.

"Hey Doc. The landscapers found the poor bastard about an hour ago. We must be dealing with one sick individual," said Hanson.

"Indeed," said Henry then turned to the side and muffled a couple of sneezes into his arm. He started to reach for the box of surgical gloves on the ground by the victim when Jo grabbed his arm.

"Um Henry, are you suffering from amnesia? You were supposed to bring your own gloves. I would really prefer not to take you back to the emergency room."

"It'll be fine. I promise you I was using normal latex gloves all morning without a problem. Though Lucas did knock me over in the attempt to save me from them. Thank you so much for calling him by the way," Henry said with a touch of sarcasm.

Jo couldn't help laughing as she pictured what had happened and realized that's why he was limping. "So what, you're just not allergic to latex anymore just like that?"

Henry shrugged and stifled a small fit of sneezes into the back of his wrist. "I had a feeling it was one of those here today gone tomorrow reactions and I was right."

Jo shook her head. "You really are the strangest person I've ever met."

"Well at least it's a step up from creepy, so I'll take it as a compliment," he said grinning.

"Still wouldn't it be best to avoid latex gloves to be on the safe side in case the allergy comes back?" Jo asked. "You did say that sort of thing could happen."

"Look I appreciate your concern Jo, but if I were to preventatively avoid everything I've ever been allergic to I'd need to walk around in a hazmat suit all the time." As Henry caught three harsh sneezes in his handkerchief he was starting to feel like he wouldn't mind having a hazmat suit right about now.

"And then you'd develop an allergy to the suit material," Jo teased.

Henry laughed. "Most likely. I haven't entirely thrown caution to the wind though. After I left the pharmacy yesterday I obtained supplies to do my own allergy testing at home."

"So you weren't just guessing, you knew the latex allergy had disappeared?"

"Yes, and I will continue to do my own allergy testing every so often to monitor any changes. Now that I've put your mind at ease, may I examine the body?" Jo motioned for him to proceed and he put on some gloves and crouched down to get a better look at the victim. He felt the tickling in his nose flare up stronger now that he was closer to the cut grass and flowers. He sniffled to try to keep from sneezing as he examined the body. "Well the obvious cause of death is strangulation, most likely with a belt or piece of rope, possibly even a scarf if it were bunched up. I'll be able to tell more about the murder weapon once we get the body back to the morgue. I'd estimate time of death at eight to ten hours ago. He wasn't killed here, but close by." Henry started crawling along the ground following the faint drag marks that were still visible to him despite the grass having been recently mowed. After a few feet he paused as his breath started to hitch with the intense need to sneeze but he pinched his nose quashing the urge and continued following the trail.

He finally found the murder site several yards away in front of a tree in a lightly wooded area. He stood up and brushed bits of cut grass from his clothing and pointed out the murder site to Jo, then walked over to another nearby tree and braced himself against it as he started sneezing repeatedly into his handkerchief. Jo gave him a brief concerned glance and then called the CSIs over to start collecting evidence. Henry continued to sneeze forceful body bending sneezes and when his handkerchief became soaked through he switched it out for a fresh one. He began to feel light-headed and sat down on the ground with his back leaning against the tree. After several more sneezes he had enough of a pause that he managed to blow his nose and that seemed to end the fit for the time being. He wiped the allergic tears from his face and focused on trying to catch his breath.

"Damn Henry, this is you medicated?" Jo said when she walked over to check on him.

Henry looked up at her with red watery eyes. "It seems the dosage I took was ill equipped to handle such a high concentration of allergens." He paused as another small sneezing fit took hold of him, then blew his nose before continuing. "I would have taken more when we first arrived, but unfortunately I left my pills in my office."

"Maybe try a higher preventative dose in the future?" Jo suggested gently.

"I will take that under advisement," Henry said smiling weakly. He stood up and walked with Jo back to the body and then crouched down to continue examining it. "There is writing in several ancient languages tattooed on the body and the tattoos are fresh. I'd estimate this man received these tattoos approximately a week before his death. In addition to ancient Egyptian we have Cuneiform, Sanskrit, Elder Futhark, Ogham, and Mayan writing. It all appears to be gibberish though."

"Do you mean you just can't read it, or is it actual gibberish?" Jo asked.

Henry frowned. "While I'm not entirely fluent in these languages, I should be able to grasp a basic understanding of what is written here if there was anything to grasp. I think it's meant to be some sort of a code, though I'd like to consult with a linguist I know out in Colorado Springs who specializes in ancient languages."

"Um sure, if you trust the guy then he must be good," said Jo momentarily taken aback. She had grown so used to Henry seeming to know everything about everything that his requesting a consult had surprised her.

"Well Dr. Jackson does have some unconventional theories, but he's one of the best in his field and I'd trust him more than anyone else for this sort of translation work. I'll photograph the body once we get it back to the morgue and email him the images." Henry could feel his nose tickling again from the smell of the grass and the roses. His breath hitched a few times and then he caught a series of five sneezes in his handkerchief. He stood up and blew his nose and frowned as he looked at the roses. He knew that the presence of the roses didn't necessarily mean that Adam had anything to do with this murder, but it would be quite the coincidence if he wasn't involved. It wouldn't be the first time that he had suspected Adam of orchestrating a crime and then it turned out to be someone else. It was also possible that Adam had simply found the body and left the roses there to mess with him.

"It is weird about the flowers," said Jo when she saw Henry staring at them. "It's something you tend to see more if the killer cared about the victim, but given the mutilation of the body, it's not likely."

Henry nodded. "Yes there is that, but I was thinking of something else. It's the strangest thing... no nevermind, it's not important."

Jo narrowed her eyes. "If it's not important in the same way that it wasn't important that you were on the train that crashed, then I think you'd better tell me."

Henry sighed. "Very well. I'm sure it's nothing, but when I arrived at work this morning there was a bouquet of white roses left on my desk."

"Was there a note?"

"No," Henry lied. He rubbed his nose and stifled a couple of sneezes. "They weren't exactly agreeing with me so I told Lucas to get rid of them."

Jo nodded. "It's probably just a coincidence, but we'll check the security tapes and add those flowers to the evidence pile." She saw a sad expression come over Henry's face, "Is something else wrong?"

"White roses were one of Abigail's favorite flowers. I used to get them for her all the time. Of course I didn't suffer from allergies back then," he explained.

"Henry, I know you've been feeling like crap lately, but you should try not to think about her so much. You're just going to end up depressed, believe me I know."

Henry sighed. "Yes I know, but it's easier said than done."

Jo patted him on the arm. "Come on partner, let's get you back to the morgue." Henry muffled a sneeze in his handkerchief, nodded, and followed her back to her car.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry goes out for drinks with Jo after he finishes processing the body from their new case and finds it difficult to control his emotions when he is once again reminded of Abigail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Henry didn't sneeze much on the ride back to the morgue, but this was only because he had fallen asleep shortly after they drove off. Jo kept glancing over at him every few minutes. She had expected him to look peaceful like he had looked after he had finally fallen asleep at the hospital, but it was a restless sleep. He kept sniffling and snoring softly from congestion and pained expressions would keep flitting across his features as if he were having unpleasant dreams. She was tempted to just take him home instead of back to the morgue. These severe allergy attacks seemed to take so much out of him and she knew in his place she'd probably just want to rest for the remainder of the day. They both had work to do though and she hoped this short nap would refresh him somewhat. She pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. After watching him sleep for another minute she gently shook him awake. "Come on wake up, we're here." Henry opened his eyes, blinked a few times to clear his vision and turned his head to look at Jo. With no warning his nose was seized by a huge tickle and he sneezed wetly right in her face. "Oh Henry, yuck!"

"I am so sorry, Jo. It just came on so quickly," Henry apologized with a horrified look on his face. He retrieved a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her, then grabbed a couple more and sneezed into them four times in rapid succession.

"It's ok, I know you didn't do it on purpose. At least you aren't contagious," she said taking the tissue and wiping the spray from her face. "I should have been more careful to avoid the line of fire given that you were sniffling in your sleep the whole way here."

"Was I really?"

"Yeah, it was kind of adorable actually," said Jo with a slight smirk.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," he replied skeptically then muffled two sneezes into the tissues and blew his nose. They split up after entering the building, Jo going to check the security footage, and Henry headed back to his office. When he entered the morgue he saw that the tattooed corpse had arrived and Lucas was already prepping the body.

Lucas looked up when he saw Henry enter and took in his boss's haggard appearance noting his bright red nose and watery eyes. "Hey Doc. Allergies acting up again?"

"Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me," Henry answered not even trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "When you've finished prepping the body, would you please photograph all of the tattoos and load them onto the computer? There's a colleague I want to send them to. I'll be out shortly." He went back to his office and closed the door and hung up his coat and scarf, then sat down at his desk and started rummaging through his briefcase. He found his pill box and took another dose of antihistamines, then blew his nose repeatedly in a fresh handkerchief to clear out the worst of the congestion. He closed his eyes for a moment wishing he could go back to sleep, but he really needed to examine the body more closely and this was not a case that he could entrust solely to Lucas. He sighed resignedly as he stood up and headed back out to the lab.

As Henry approached the exam table his nose started to tickle again and he realized that the faint smell of grass and flowers was coming from the body. He quickly brought his arm to his face and stifled three sneezes into it. Lucas blessed him and he nodded his thanks. He put on a surgical mask hoping to keep the worst of the smell out and then put on a pair of gloves.

"What's with the mask?" Lucas asked. "Is there something toxic on the body?"

"To me perhaps, but you should be fine," Henry answered.

Lucas nodded with a slight smirk. "I finished photographing the body and the pictures are all up on the computer for you. Quite the assortment of tattoos isn't it? I recognize the Egyptian, Cuneiform, and Elder Futhark, but what are the others?"

"Sanskrit, Ogham, and Mayan," said Henry as he began the tedious work of drawing blood and taking samples of the burned flesh.

"Wow, can you read any of it?"

"I could, if it actually said anything. I believe it's in code, but I'm going confer with a specialist just to be sure." Henry put on a pair of surgical binoculars and carefully removed some fibers from the strangulation marks on the victim's neck. He looked at the fibers under a microscope and was disappointed to find that they came from common nylon rope. He could match a murder weapon to the fibers if one was found, but he had hoped it would be some exotic material sold only a few places in the city. When he had finished up with the body he removed his mask and gloves, and went to the computer and looked through the images Lucas had taken to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He then composed an email to Daniel Jackson with the images attached. Jo returned just as he hit the send button.

"How are you holding up?" Jo asked noting that Henry didn't look much better than he did when she'd left him.

"I'm fine, just tired," said Henry dismissively. "Was there anything on the security feed?"

Jo shook her head. "Nothing useful, whoever delivered the flowers had his face completely obscured by a hood."

Henry nodded feeling somewhat relieved. He didn't want Jo getting mixed up in this whole Adam thing. "I'm sure it wasn't connected to the case anyway."

"Find anything else with the body?"

"Yes, the victim didn't fight back much if at all so he must have been drugged or unconscious at the time of the assault. I've run some blood work to check for drugs or toxins. Unfortunately the murder weapon is common nylon rope so it will be difficult to trace." Henry paused as he felt the need to sneeze, but he rubbed his nose and it faded. "There was no ID found at the crime scene was there?"

"No, but we're going to run the DNA through the database to see if we get any hits."

Henry sniffled as he felt the tickle in his nose come back and this time rubbing did nothing to relieve the sensation. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and sneezed into it. His breath hitched a couple of times and then he sneezed twice more, then blew his nose. "I sent the photographs of the tattoos to Dr. Jackson, but I don't know how quickly he will respond as he's often out of town. It might be a good idea to have a cryptologist start working on it in the meantime, and I'll see what I can make of it as well."

Jo nodded. "Not tonight though, you should get some rest."

Henry smirked. "Stop mothering me, I'm fine. That was the first time I've sneezed in the past hour."

"I am not mothering you," Jo replied indignantly. "This is an unusual case and if you run yourself ragged then that can affect your focus. It's not about the frequency of your sneezing, it's about how tired you are and you still look exhausted from the allergy attack in the park."

"Very well, I suppose I could use a break," he conceded.

"Come and have a drink with me," said Jo. "I think we could both use a distraction."

"I'd love to." Henry didn't really feel like hanging around a bar right now, but he accepted her invitation because he really didn't want to go home either. Abe had plans and he didn't feel like sitting around the apartment by himself. He grabbed his coat and scarf from his office and then walked with her to the bar across the street. His nose started to itch and run a bit after he stepped outside, but to his surprise he actually managed to make it to the bar without sneezing.

Jo ordered their drinks after they'd found seats at the bar. "I'll have a rum and coke and he'll have a club soda." Henry raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "I might not be a doctor Henry, but I do know that you can't mix alcohol with allergy medication."

"Fine. I'll have a club soda with lime please," he said to the bartender who brought them their drinks after a couple of minutes. "Why did you ask me to have a drink with you if you didn't intend to let me consume alcohol?"

Jo shrugged. "It's just something that friends do."

"You consider us to be friends?" Henry asked genuinely surprised.

Jo shook her head and rolled her eyes. "We've been out for drinks a few times, I had dinner with you and your surrogate father, and I even took you to the hospital. What else would you call it? I wouldn't say we were close friends, but we haven't known each other that long."

Henry nodded and smiled. "When you put it like that, some might even assume we were dating."

"Like Abe?"

Henry chuckled. "How did you know I was thinking of him?"

"There were just some things he said to me at the hospital after you fell asleep. It was like he had this notion that it was inevitable that we'd end up together even after I insisted we were just colleagues," Jo explained.

"I believe that is just wishful thinking on his part. He'd like to see me move on with my life. He even said it was fate that you found me by the river."

"Well you don't usually get to see your friends naked," said Jo smirking.

Henry nearly choked on his drink. "You promised not to mention that again!"

"Hey you brought it up first. In a court of law that would open the door for me to testify about the night in question."

"Fair enough, but never again."

Jo smiled. "I won't bring it up if you don't." They sipped their drinks in silence for awhile listening to the radio in the background. Jo sighed as she heard the song Iris by Goo Goo Dolls come on the radio. It was one of those songs that still managed to make her think of her husband bringing up feelings of grief. She took a long swallow of her rum and coke and as the opening line of the song, 'And I'd give up forever to touch you, cause I know that you feel me somehow', played she saw Henry stiffen and a look of mild distress came over his face. At first she thought he was about to have a sneezing fit, but all that happened was he started gripping his glass tightly. "You ok?" He didn't answer and his eyes began to tear up. He sniffled and wiped the tears away. "Henry are you crying?"

"It's just my allergies flaring up a bit," he said not wanting to admit to the obvious. He knew it was a horrible cliché, but maybe in his case it would be believable. He wasn't familiar with the song that was playing but it definitely brought up feelings of sorrow over losing Abigail and he was finding it difficult to control himself. As the chorus started and he heard the words, 'And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am', he felt his control slipping. He stood up and quickly walked out of the bar before he completely broke down in tears.

Jo called after him, but he wouldn't stop. She paid for the drinks and ran out after him. She found him leaning against the wall outside the bar. He was taking deep breaths and wiping away a trail of tears from his cheeks. "Henry what's wrong?" she asked even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"I just needed some fresh air," he said dismissively. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket to blow his nose, but a sudden tickle caused him to sneeze twice forcefully into it instead. He blew his nose and looked away from Jo knowing she wasn't buying it.

"Yeah I can see the fresh air is doing wonders for your sinuses," Jo replied sarcastically. "Not a fan of Goo Goo Dolls?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Goo Goo Dolls, they're the band that wrote the song that upset you," she explained.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Henry tersely and started to walk back to the morgue.

Jo grabbed his arm. "Don't walk away from me Henry. I'm really starting to worry about you."

Henry pulled his arm out of Jo's grasp. "Jo I'm fine really. My allergies are only a minor nuisance at the moment."

"I'm not talking about your allergies and you know it," said Jo firmly. "That song made you think of Abigail didn't it?" Henry didn't answer and looked off into the distance with a pained expression on his face. "It's ok, that song gets to me too. Hell some days half the songs on the radio make me think of my husband. I don't know how long your wife's been gone, but you've given me the impression that it's been quite a long time and I'm just concerned with how much you've been affected by memories of her lately. I don't want to see you go into a downward depression spiral."

Henry just shook his head at her words. He really didn't want to talk about this right now and started to walk away, but Jo grabbed his arm more tightly this time and his expression softened when he saw how worried she really was. "What exactly is it that you're afraid of Jo?"

"I just don't want to see you end up in the river again."

Henry just looked at her with a puzzled expression and it took him a couple of minutes to figure out what she meant and then his mouth dropped open in dismay. "Oh god, you think I'm suicidal don't you?"

"Not exactly, but headed that way maybe. Can you really blame me?" said Jo gently. "You keep joking about killing yourself and you even told Hanson to shoot you."

Henry stifled a sneeze in his handkerchief and sighed. "The jokes were just that, jokes, and I thought that being shot in the shoulder was a better alternative to having my throat slit. I assure you that my melancholy moods in no way indicate that I plan on hurting myself." At least not permanently, he thought to himself. Jo didn't look entirely convinced. "You were right that it's been a long time, and for awhile I was doing rather well, but after I started working with you I started running into more and more things that remind me of her as well as other painful memories from my past," he said not accusingly, but matter-of-factly.

Jo nodded. "I understand. This whole grieving for loved ones thing can be a real rollercoaster. I'm here if you ever need to talk."

Henry smiled. "Likewise, I'm here for you if you ever feel the need to talk."

Jo thought about what Henry had said for a moment. "I don't remind you of her do I?"

He shook his head. "Not really, though perhaps in the sense that life with Abigail was an adventure, and I've had more adventure in my life since meeting you than I've had in years."

Jo smiled sadly. "I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing. Well this whole going to the bar idea was a bust. We really need to do something more fun to take our minds off of things."

"Another night maybe. I am tired and I think I'd like to go home now. You're welcome to come with me. Perhaps we could watch something on that Netflix thing," Henry suggested.

Jo laughed. "That Netflix thing? You've got an account and I bet you don't even know how to use it."

"It's Abe's account really. I don't watch much television and he's always the one that sets it up if we do watch something on Netflix."

Jo shook her head. She found it so strange that Abe took to new technology so much more easily than Henry did. "I suppose it's my duty to teach you and help bring you into the modern age."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually made a Forever fanvideo about Henry and Abigail for the song Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. You can find it by searching for Forever Iris on YouTube or [clicking here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3603930/chapters/7951803).


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is struggling to crack the code on the tattooed corpse and Adam calls to help nudge him in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Henry had a rather nice time with Jo watching Netflix. She had selected the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Henry had protested at first because he had never seen the first three Star Trek movies, but Jo had insisted that it didn't really matter. He enjoyed the movie much more than he had thought he would. It was funny and heartwarming at the same time and it definitely did cheer him up. They invited Abe to join them when he came home, but he declined saying he was going to bed and winked at Henry as he went upstairs. After Jo had left Henry filled Abe in on what had happened with Adam and they searched the building from top to bottom for bugs and hidden cameras, but were unable to find anything.

A few days had passed and Henry was still struggling with his allergies. He had experimented with various different medications and dosages, but so far the only combinations that seemed to give him adequate symptom relief both inside and when outdoors on high pollen days or in other situations with a high concentration of allergens also made him feel groggy and in a fog, which actually made it harder for him to do his job than if he was just sneezing his head off. It was becoming a bit of a catch 22 situation though because the prolonged sneezing fits would greatly exhaust him as well. Jo and Lucas had ganged up on him and started calling him Sneezy. He tried to laugh it off good naturedly at first, but Jo soon stopped when she saw how much the nickname was bothering him. It took several stern looks before Lucas finally got the hint that it wasn't funny anymore. He sat on the edge of his bed with a box of tissues next to him turning over the prescription nasal spray in his hands. He knew he was probably going to regret this, but at this point he was desperate and willing to try anything.

He shook the nasal spray, uncapped it, and squirted it once up each nostril sniffing to get the medication up into his sinuses. Within seconds he knew that this had been a stupid idea as his nasal passages began to prickle and burn. The feeling quickly escalated into a strong tickle and he grabbed a handful of tissues and started sneezing violently into them. The sneezes were loud and forceful, coming one on top of another, causing him to rock forward with each one. The sneezes were doing nothing to alleviate the tickle in his nose and it seemed like the more he sneezed the more he had to. After a few minutes the sneezing showed no sign of stopping and the muscles in his chest and abdomen were quickly becoming sore. If anything the sneezing seemed to be getting more violent and he toppled off the edge of the bed from the force of them. He knew this needed to stop soon or he was going to pass out. He managed to get himself up into a sitting position, but found that the non-stop sneezing made it impossible for him to stand up.

Abe ran upstairs when he heard the crash and found Henry on the floor of his bedroom sneezing uncontrollably. "What the hell happened?" he asked, his voice full of worry. Henry was sneezing too much to try to speak, and Abe looked around the room to see if he could spot the source of the attack. Finally his eyes came to rest on the bottle of nasal spray on the bed. "Oh for crying out loud," he muttered and went to the bathroom to fill up the sink with water. He returned to the bedroom and pulled Henry to his feet and pushed him into the bathroom and dunked his head in the sink.

Henry coughed and sputtered when he lifted his head out of the water and then started sneezing again. He dunked his head a second time and held his head underwater for as long as he could stand it. When he lifted his head out of the water again he sneezed twice more and that seemed to end the fit. The violent sneezing attack had sapped all the strength from his body and he felt his knees buckle. Abe caught him before he could collapse and managed to get him back to his room and into bed. Henry blew his nose over and over again and used up nearly half the tissue box. Abe brought in a towel and dried his face and hair. "Thank you," he managed to croak out. His throat was raw from all of the sneezing and his voice was incredibly hoarse.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Abe said shaking his head. "You know how those nasal sprays affect you."

Henry sighed. "I was desperate and I hadn't tried that particular brand before."

"The next time you want to do something stupid like this, let me know first." Abe picked up the nasal spray and dropped it in the trashcan. "How long were you sneezing like that before I found you?"

"I don't know," Henry answered and massaged his temples which had begun to throb badly. "It felt like I had been sneezing since the dawn of time, but it was probably only several minutes." Abe shook his head again in exasperation and left the room. He returned ten minutes later with a cup of hot tea and some Tylenol. Henry gratefully sipped the tea and closed his eyes as the warm liquid soothed his ravaged throat, then he swallowed the pills. "Abraham, please kill me," he said with a soft moan.

"I will do no such thing. You need to find a way to manage your allergies like any normal human being," Abe responded indignantly. "If you want to die so badly you can do it yourself and find your own way home. I don't want any part of it."

Henry took his son's hand in his. "I'm sorry Abe. I forget how hard it is on you."

Abe nodded and smiled sadly. "Try to take a nap. I'll wake you when dinner is ready."

Abe went back down to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner and Henry closed his eyes quickly falling asleep. He was woken about ten minutes later by the sound of the phone ringing, but felt too exhausted to even reach over to the phone on the nightstand. After three rings the phone stopped ringing and then Abe called up saying that it was Dr. Jackson on the phone. Henry struggled to sit up in bed, his stomach muscles protesting and picked up the phone. "Ok Abe I've got it." He heard the click of Abe hanging up the kitchen extension. A sudden tickle in his nose caused him to sneeze three times before he could greet his colleague. "Hello."

"Hi Dr. Morgan. Are you alright? You don't sound so good," Daniel answered sounding concerned.

"Bad allergies, I'll live," said Henry dismissively.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I know how awful that can be," Daniel sympathized. "Mine used to be pretty bad all the time, but shots definitely helped. Now they mostly only act up when traveling and I'm not used to the local pollen."

Henry retrieved a handkerchief from the nightstand drawer feeling like he might sneeze again. "Unfortunately shots are not an option for me." He inhaled sharply and sneezed twice into his handkerchief, then rubbed his nose.

"Bless you. Is it a fear of needles?"

"No, it's a long story, and why would I be afraid of needles? I'm a doctor."

"Well there's a difference between sticking needles into someone else and having them stuck into you. Anyway I wanted to get back to you about those images you sent me. I'm sorry it took me so long but I was out of town," Daniel explained apologetically.

Henry chuckled. "I figured you would be. You're always off on some adventure. It must have been somewhere exciting if there was no internet access."

"You have no idea," Daniel replied with a laugh. "I had a chance to go over the images this afternoon and you were right, the tattoos are nothing but gibberish and it might be some sort of code. I'd offer to help try to decrypt it, but unfortunately I have to leave town again in the morning. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's alright. You were help enough. I'm not fluent in these languages and I was only eighty percent sure it was a code." Henry was starting to wonder whether it was even a code at all though, and not just decorative nonsense. He and the NYPD cryptologists hadn't been able to come up with anything so far.

"Well good luck figuring it out and feel better."

"Thank you Dr. Jackson, goodbye." Henry sneezed again as he hung up the phone. He pulled himself out of bed and went through the different allergy pills on his dresser. They might not be very helpful when he was outside, but at least he could have some relief while in his own home. After deciding on a medication he swallowed the pills with what was left of his tea. He lay back down in bed hoping he could get a bit more sleep in before dinner, but then his cell phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and answered it without even looking at the screen. "Hello." He sniffled then stifled a small sneezing fit against the back of his wrist.

"Hello Henry. Gesundheit, you don't sound at all well," said Adam with a slight snicker.

Henry's eyes widened as he recognized Adam's voice. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see how the case was going," said Adam.

"If you had anything to do with this murder I'll..."

"Kill me?" Adam said cutting Henry off. "Be my guest. I'd be honored to be your first. What makes you think I had anything to do with this murder?"

"The flowers you left on my desk were the same as the ones found at the crime scene," Henry pointed out.

"Those were just to let you know that I'm watching," said Adam, "and from what I can see, you're no closer to cracking the code than you were when you first caught this case and Dr. Jackson wasn't much help. Don't worry though, I'm here to nudge you in the right direction. Take a closer look at the tattoos."

"I've already gone over every inch of those tattoos a hundred times," Henry protested.

"Look closer, really close," said Adam cryptically.

"Why did you pick white roses?" Henry asked. He had to know whether it was just a coincidence or not.

"You know why."

"But how could you possibly know about..." he trailed off and muffled a series of four sneezes into his handkerchief.

"I've been watching you for a long time Henry. I have all the time in the world and there was no rush to reveal my existence to you."

Henry sighed. "So it was your intention to cause me heartache."

"I'm trying to help you Henry. You need to get Abigail out of your system. Eternity is too long to dwell on the past. It is ironic though, how her favorite flowers which you used to bring her with such love now cause you to dissolve into an allergic mess," Adam replied with a nasty laugh. "I find the nature of your allergies fascinating. In over 2000 years I've never experienced them myself. It has been interesting to see how they change with each death, and I think I could turn it into a game."

"Why would you do that?" Henry asked appalled at the implications of what Adam was saying.

"Boredom Henry, one needs to spice things up every now and then. Now get to work on those tattoos, time is running out," Adam replied and hung up.

Henry stared at his phone for a couple of seconds before putting it back in his pocket. So now he knew that Adam had picked white roses on purpose because of the personal significance they held. He didn't think that Adam had intentionally triggered his allergies, but he seemed terribly amused by it, and had implied that that sort of thing was going to happen more often. After dinner he got on the computer and pulled up the images of the tattooed corpse and began going over them again. He squinted at the screen wondering what Adam had meant when he said to look at the tattoos really close. After about an hour he just clicked repeatedly on the zoom function out of frustration until the image on the screen was a huge pixilated blob. He cocked his head to the side as he realized that there seemed to be some sort of pattern in the pixels. He zoomed out a couple of times and his mouth dropped open at what he saw. The tattoos were all made up of lots of tiny ones and zeros. It was binary code! He grabbed his phone and called Jo right away to inform her of his breakthrough.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jo comes over to Henry's apartment to discuss his breakthrough in the case and then they have dessert with Abe and watch some Doctor Who afterward. Note: There are spoilers for the Doctor Who episode Utopia in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

"Hello Rudolph," Jo said with a smirk as Henry let her into the antique shop.

"Excuse me?" he answered with a puzzled expression.

"I don't think I've ever seen your nose quite this shade of red before," Jo teased.

"Clever," said Henry narrowing his eyes at her.

"Ok ok sorry, I guess it sounded funnier in my head." Henry locked up the shop again and led her upstairs. "Are you alright? Your voice sounds just as bad as it did on the phone. I thought it was bad cell reception."

Henry sniffled and shrugged. "Just the remnants of a violent sneezing fit before dinner."

"What brought it on this time?"

"I'd rather not say," he answered feeling a bit embarrassed about the circumstances.

"Come on Henry, I promise I won't laugh. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally expose you to whatever it was."

Henry smiled. "There's little chance of that happening. I was trying a prescription nasal spray and it had opposite the desired effect." He left out the part how he was foolish for even trying it to begin with due to his past experiences with that type of medication.

"Oh that's too bad. I've heard that many people find them more effective than pills," said Jo sympathetically. "Something smells good, is Abe baking something?" she asked as they entered the living room.

Henry sniffed the air unsure what she was talking about, then let out two harsh sneezes against the back of his wrist as the action irritated his nasal passages. "I can't smell much of anything right now, but he's probably making something for dessert. Would you care for some coffee?"

Jo smiled. "Sure, decaf if you have it. I'll be up all night if I have regular this late."

Henry nodded. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back shortly."

Jo took a seat on the couch as Henry went off to the kitchen and looked around the room. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd been in his apartment, but she really enjoyed looking at all the old antique furniture. She glanced at the laptop on the coffee table with the screen saver playing on the screen. Curious as to what Henry's big breakthrough was she tried to bring up the desktop, but unfortunately it was password protected. She started trying to type in a guess at the password when Henry came back with the coffee.

"What are you doing?" he asked sounding amused.

"Trying to guess your password," Jo answered unashamedly.

"And what's your best guess?"

"I'll bet it has something to do with scarves."

Henry chuckled and sat down next to Jo handing her a mug of coffee. "This is Abe's computer not mine. I only borrow it from time to time. Even if it were my device do you really think I'd pick such an obvious password?"

Jo laughed. "No I suppose not."

"I hope you like blueberries. Abe's made scones for dessert. They're still cooling off, but we can have them in a little while."

"Sounds good, I can't wait to try them. So what was your big breakthrough?"

Henry took a sip of coffee, then typed in the password on the computer and brought up an image of the tattooed corpse and zoomed in several times. "Do you see those numbers within the tattoos?"

Jo's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, hey that's binary code isn't it?"

Henry nodded. "So you know what it is then?"

"Well I can't read it or anything, but yes I've seen binary code before," Jo answered and took a long sip of her coffee.

"Likewise, I can recognize the code but not read it. I am fluent in a number of languages, but none of them include any kind of computer programming."

Jo laughed. "That really doesn't surprise me, nor am I surprised that you don't actually own your own computer."

Henry shrugged and then turned to the side sneezing harshly into the crook of his arm and sniffled. "Normally I have little use for computers outside of work and Abe doesn't mind letting me borrow his on occasion."

"Well I'll have tech get on this first thing in the morning," said Jo. "You know you could have just told me about this over the phone."

"I wanted you to see for yourself how small the coding actually is. There is no possible way something like this could have been manually tattooed. It would require some sort of robotics assisted technology," Henry explained.

Jo nodded. "You still could have told me all of this on the phone. I think you just wanted some company," she said teasingly.

Henry shrugged and didn't deny it. "Well I love Abe, but sometimes..." he trailed off.

"You'd rather talk to someone your own age?"

Henry laughed then sighed sadly. While it was true that he appeared close in age to Jo, in reality she was closer in age to Abe than she was to him. There wasn't anyone on the planet that he knew of his own age. Even to Adam he was just a baby if his claims were truthful. "It's not just about age though."

"I know. None of my other friends know what it's like to lose someone they were madly in love with. Even if we don't talk about it, it's still nice to spend time with someone who you know can relate to what you're going through."

"Yes it certainly is." Henry smiled and gave Jo's hand a quick squeeze.

Abe emerged from the kitchen carrying three small plates of scones. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Henry holding Jo's hand but didn't draw attention to it. "Are you two done working?" he asked setting a plate down in front of each of them and taking a seat in the armchair.

"Yes we're finished." Henry exited the program and closed the laptop.

"Wow these are really good," said Jo after taking a bite out of one of the scones. "Maybe you should have opened a bakery instead of an antiques shop."

"I'm glad you like them, but this is really just a hobby," Abe answered.

"It looks like he's enjoying them too," said Jo smirking when she glanced at Henry and saw him slowly chewing the scone with his eyes closed and a look of pure bliss on his face.

Abe laughed. "Yeah they're his favorite dessert."

"Indeed they are." Henry barely suppressed a moan as he took another bite. Abe had been making these scones a lot lately, but he never got tired of them.

"Time for a bit of entertainment I think." Abe turned on the TV and brought up Netflix then selected Doctor Who.

"You watch Doctor Who?" Jo asked surprised.

"Well I started watching the show when I was in my twenties and I never stopped enjoying it all these years later," Abe replied. "Have you seen it?"

Jo shook her head. "Only a few scattered episodes."

"Great, I'll show you some of my favorites!" said Abe grinning.

Henry narrowed his eyes at Abe and shot him a look that was a cross between 'don't you dare' and 'oh not again'. He knew Abe was going to put on the Utopia episode in which they learned that the character Jack Harkness had lost the ability to die permanently after an accident. He knew that it was unlikely that Jo would associate that character with him, but he was still uncomfortable watching the episode in her presence. Abe merely gave him a fake innocent smile in return. "I guess we're going to be here awhile," he said resignedly.

"Actually I should probably get going, but you boys have fun. Thanks for the dessert Abe."

"Oh come on, just stay for one episode," Abe insisted.

Jo smiled. "Alright, what the hell, why not?" she answered figuring it couldn't hurt to stay a little longer and humor Abe if it made him happy.

Henry stifled a trio of sneezes against the back of his hand and then stood up. "I'll be right back, you two start without me." Though the medicine had caused his symptoms to die down considerably, the tickling in his nose would still flare up unexpectedly. He retrieved a couple of handkerchiefs from his room and then returned to the living room sitting back down next to Jo and settled in for the long haul knowing that they'd probably be watching more than one episode despite what Abe had said. When he glanced at the screen he saw that Abe had indeed selected the Utopia episode as he had predicted.

"You tricked me!" Jo exclaimed laughing when it was over. "You convinced me to stay for one episode and then picked one that ends with to be continued. Now I have to see what happens next." Abe chuckled and played the next episode, neither he or Henry mentioning the fact that this was in fact a three part episode. She felt a bit annoyed when 'to be continued' flashed again at the end of the second episode, but she didn't say anything. She really wanted to see how this ended. Henry dozed off in the middle of the third episode and slumped over against her with his head on her shoulder. "Should I wake him?"

Abe shook his head. "Nah, he's seen this before. Let him sleep, he's had a rough evening."

Jo nodded. "Yes he told me." She tried to move Henry off of her without waking him, but he kept falling back against her in the same position, and she resigned herself to effectively cuddling with him and absently stroked his hair as she watched the show. When it was over she gently woke him up so she could untangle herself from him.

"So what did you think?" Henry asked after stifling a yawn.

"I liked it," said Jo smiling. "It was exciting and funny at the same time. That Jack character was certainly interesting."

"You thought he was hot didn't you?" Henry teased.

Jo ignored his comment. "I thought his immortality was interesting. I mean he wasn't an alien or a vampire or anything, just a normal human who can't die permanently due to some weird accident. Can you imagine living like that? I mean I'm sure it must have its down sides, but it would be wonderful to live forever and get to experience all sorts of amazing things."

"Yes I can imagine it quite well," Henry found himself answering bitterly despite knowing it was probably the wrong thing to say. In truth he was somewhat jealous of Jack Harkness. At least when he died his body and clothing didn't vanish. After Jo left he glared at Abe. "You just had to show her those episodes."

"They were good episodes," said Abe feigning innocence. "Ok ok, I just thought it would make it easier for you when you tell her the truth about you. You could start off by saying remember Jack Harkness from those Doctor Who episodes we watched?" Abe explained when Henry continued glaring at him.

"Abe I'm not telling her the truth about me anytime soon. Not unless circumstances require me to," said Henry firmly. "And somehow I sense that bringing Jack Harkness into it will just make her think I'm joking."

"You might have a point," Abe admitted. "You could always tell her that the character was based on you though," he said facetiously.

Henry just shook his head and laughed. In some ways it certainly did feel like the writers had based the character on him, but of course that was impossible.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The binary code from the tattooed corpse is processed too late to prevent disaster and Henry has a small mental breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Mostly for the first two episodes, but there may be events from other episodes mentioned as well.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Henry got off the elevator on Jo's floor of the police station. Immediately he stopped in his tracks as a sharp tickle filled his nose and he sneezed loudly before he had time to cover up. There was an odd smell in the air, but he couldn't place it, and his sinuses were soon too clogged for him to be able to smell it at all. This didn't stop his nose from tickling though and he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket just in time to catch a trio of wet sneezes. He blew his nose and when he looked up he saw Jo walking towards him.

"That's certainly one way to announce your arrival," said Jo shaking her head. She looked out the window briefly at the pouring rain and knew it wasn't pollen that was bothering him today. "If it's not one thing with you it's another."

Henry nodded and sneezed twice more into his handkerchief. "So it would seem. I'm not sure what it is, but something in the air on this floor is irritating me."

Jo sniffed the air. "Hmm now that you mention it, there is a funny smell in the air, but I have no idea what it is." She wondered if someone had sprayed air freshener or something like that. "I guess you didn't take anything today since it's raining."

Henry sniffled and rubbed at his nose. "I did actually. I figured with my luck lately I'd probably still need it." He paused to sneeze again. "It's just that the dosages that seem most effective also seem to put me to sleep as you saw for yourself last night when I ended up inadvertently using your shoulder as a pillow."

"Yeah," said Jo laughing nervously. She hoped none of her coworkers heard that. She didn't want them to get the wrong idea. She briefly wondered how much of a mess he'd be right now if he hadn't taken any medicine. "Maybe it's time to see an allergist. I don't think the physician heal thyself method is working so well for you."

Henry cringed but nodded. It was probably time to see a specialist again if he was having thoughts of "accidentally" getting hit by a car so that Abe couldn't accuse him of committing suicide. He knew he probably wouldn't go through with it though because knowing his luck it'd backfire and he'd end up with food allergies again, so that just left the option of seeing a doctor about it. "Yes you're quite right. I'll make an appointment when I have time."

Jo raised an eyebrow surprised that he had agreed so readily, but then again she wouldn't be surprised if he kept putting it off claiming he was too busy. "Ok, come on. Tech should be just about done processing the binary code." She led Henry to the computer lab where the code was being processed. Whatever that smell was seemed to be a bit stronger in this room for some reason. Henry had clearly noticed as he stopped walking shortly inside the room entrance. A brief look of panic flashed across his face and then he muffled several rapid-fire sneezes into his handkerchief. She gave him a sympathetic smile and then motioned him to the proper computer station.

The computer technician looked up and smiled. "Good you're here. I've just finished processing the binary code. I'm not sure what to make of it though."

Jo looked at the screen and sighed in exasperation. "Great, more gibberish, another code. Could this thing be any more convoluted?" She looked over at Henry who was sniffling, but reading the screen with an intense look of concentration and his lips were moving silently as he read.

After a couple of moments understanding dawned on Henry and his eyes lit up excitedly. "Good Lord! This isn't gibberish, it's Aramaic transliterated into the Latin alphabet!" he exclaimed then turned to the side doubling over with an intense trio of sneezes.

"You've got to be kidding me! Seriously, Aramaic?" said Jo shaking her head in disbelief. "Ok Mr. Rosetta Stone, what does it say?"

Henry's face fell as he finished reading the text. "Oh no, this isn't good at all. If I'm reading this correctly it describes a terrorist plot to bomb the Empire State Building. It's dated for today, but there's no specific time indicated."

"Shit!" Jo cursed. "Come on, we have to tell Reece and get on the phone with Homeland Security!" She ran out of the room with Henry close on her heels. As they entered the main squad room they could hear the sound of numerous sirens from police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances screaming by.

Henry stopped running and his face went white. "I think we're too late Jo," he said in barely more than a whisper.

Jo turned to face him and nodded grimly. "I still need to talk to Reece." Henry didn't respond and merely looked at her with an expression of pain and grief. "Henry, can you hear me?" When he still didn't answer she grabbed his arm and led him to her desk and pushed him down into the chair in front of it. "Ok just sit here. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said and ran off to her boss's office.

Henry just sat there everything a blur around him. He barely even registered all the people shouting and running around the squad room. He cursed Adam, who seemed to have intimate knowledge of this case, for not calling to help sooner, and cursed his allergies thinking that maybe if he had been more focused, then he could have figured this whole thing out sooner on his own. He was vaguely aware that his allergies were still bothering him and that he was sneezing repeatedly, but it felt so far away and unimportant. Everything around him seemed to vanish and images of World War II filled his vision. There were bombs going off all around him and he was frantically scrambling to try to help the wounded, but there were so many people that were beyond his help.

When Jo returned to her desk Henry was right where she left him slumped in the chair with a far off look of pure anguish on his face. If it weren't for the fact that he kept sneezing she would have thought he'd gone catatonic, though he didn't even seem to be aware that he was doing it. He was sneezing completely out in the open when he was normally polite enough to try to cover them up somehow. His nose was quite visibly running and with a sigh she grabbed some tissues from the box on her desk and wiped his nose for him like he was a five year old and he didn't even seem to notice. She waved a hand in front of his face and called his name, but she couldn't get a response out of him. Even shaking him did nothing. She was wondering if he had gone into some sort of shock and was debating whether or not to call the paramedics for him. Finally she tried slapping him hard across the face. This seemed to evoke some sort of reaction at last. He looked up at her but with a confused expression like he didn't know who she was. He then threw his arms around her waist clinging to her and murmuring Abigail's name. "No Henry, it's Jo. Come on snap out of it," she said trying to loosen his grip on her.

"Jo?" he said questioningly still half in a daze.

"Yes it's Jo Martinez. Come on back to reality now. I don't want to have to call you an ambulance." Finally understanding seemed to dawn on his face and he released his grip on her.

"My apologies," Henry said full of embarrassment. "My mind was somewhere else."

"Yeah no kidding, that was some flashback you were having there," she replied sitting behind her desk.

Henry sniffled feeling his nose tickle again and caught a small fit in his handkerchief and then blew his nose. "Yes I get those from time to time."

"I've noticed, but it's usually much easier to snap you out of it," Jo said gently knowing it must have been brought on by the stress and guilt of thinking that he'd failed to prevent what he thought must have been another 9/11 type attack.

Henry put his head in his hands. "All those people dead... all because I couldn't figure out the code more quickly."

"Henry, it really wasn't that bad. The bomb was relatively small. It destroyed a few rooms but the building structure is still intact. There were several people injured, but only one fatality, and if it's any consolation, he was probably dead before the explosion."

"What makes you say that?"

"Reece said he was covered in the same sort of tattoos as the other victim," Jo explained. "The body is being sent to the morgue as we speak. Whoever is behind this is playing with us. They knew they made the code too difficult for us to crack it in time so they went for minimal damage, but this time they'll probably expect us to work faster and they'll have something bigger planned."

Henry nodded. "I'd better get right back to the morgue then."

Jo shook her head. "The only place you're going is home."

Henry stared at her in disbelief. "Surely you can't be serious? We're in the middle of a crisis!"

"I'm completely serious, and don't call me Shirley," Jo deadpanned.

Henry raised an eyebrow at her comment, but decided that this wasn't the time to ask what she meant by it. "Look I'm sorry if I scared you before, but I assure you I'm perfectly alright now."

Jo sighed. "You really have no idea how out of it you were. You were non-responsive for a good ten minutes and I was about thirty seconds away from calling you an ambulance. I had to slap you to even get you to look at me and then you hugged me and called me Abigail."

"I did?" Henry asked completely mortified. He knew he had been hugging her because his arms were still around her when he'd fully come out of the flashback, but he had no memory of calling her Abigail.

"Yes you did. I want you to go home and rest before you have another breakdown," Jo insisted.

"I promise you it was only brought on because I thought hundreds of people had died as a result of my incompetence. It will not happen again," said Henry dismissively.

"Henry you're not incompetent, you're the smartest man I know, but you're not a god. Not having another flashback like that is not something you can promise."

"I'll rest later, I need to deal with the new body now," he argued.

"No, you're going to let Lucas handle it. He took the photos of the body last time and he can do it again and zoom in to confirm that we're dealing with binary code again. Then tech will take over and I'll have them email you the results. You can come back in if you need to, but for now you're going home to rest," she said resolutely.

"Jo please..."

"No," she said cutting him off. "This is how it's going to be. You're going to go home and rest for at least a few hours and if you don't, I'll tell the Lieutenant what happened and have her remove you from the case pending a psych evaluation."

Henry sighed and then muffled a fit of four harsh sneezes into his handkerchief. "Very well, I'll go home. Though I don't know how you can expect me to relax with all of this going on."

"You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll think of something," Jo answered giving him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to be so harsh, but you know it's for your own good."

Henry nodded and left without another word. He tried not to be upset with Jo. He knew she was right, but he was so frustrated with the situation. He didn't know how he could just sit at home when there was such important work to be done. He got into the elevator and on the ride down his phone rang. He answered it and before he could utter a greeting the person on the other end started talking.

"Hello Henry. It seems you weren't quite fast enough. I did tell you that time was running out."

"Damn you to hell Adam!" Henry shouted surprised at his own lack of control. He usually felt that cursing was beneath him. "You knew what was going to happen and when! There was no reason for all those people to be hurt!"

"What fun would that be if I just gave you all the answers?" said Adam snickering. "I'm sure you'll figure out the next one faster though. That is if your partner releases you from your time out. By the way, did you enjoy the fragrance in the squad room today? From what I could see you were particularly moved by it," he said with a cruel laugh.

Henry wanted to shout at Adam to get a life and stop torturing him, but the line went dead. He resisted the urge to throw the phone against the elevator wall and shoved it back in his pocket. As he left the building he vowed that if he ever met Adam in person he'd punch him right in the face. He knew it wouldn't accomplish anything and might very well get him killed, but it would certainly make him feel better.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry tries his best to relax after being sent home. Jo comes over later to discuss an update in the case and finds him in another somewhat compromising position. They have a serious talk before discussing the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Scattered references to events from random episodes up through season 1 episode 8.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

"You did what?" Abe burst out when Henry explained why he was home from work early.

"You heard me, and I don't intend to repeat myself," Henry answered with a pointed look.

"This really isn't good."

"In light of what happened, or at least what I thought happened at the time, I don't think it was so unreasonable a reaction," said Henry dismissively. "She'll probably just think it's post traumatic stress disorder."

"Which she'll probably want you to seek treatment for," said Abe rolling his eyes. "Come to think of it that's probably not a bad idea."

"I do not have PTSD," said Henry through gritted teeth.

"Oh please, you're not the only one here who's been through war. I know what it's like and I remember you having episodes similar to what happened today when I was growing up, but at least then you had a loving wife to help you through them. It wouldn't hurt to talk to a counselor about it. You can get treatment without revealing all the details."

Henry sagged a bit in defeat. "Look I know I get nostalgic and lost in my thoughts a lot, but what happened today hasn't happened in a very long time. I don't think I need to see a therapist for one isolated incident. I promise I'll think about it though if it happens again."

Abe sighed and nodded knowing that was the best he was going to get. "So what are you going to do now?"

Henry shrugged. "Well I'm under orders to rest, so I suppose that's exactly what I'll have to do. I'm sorely tempted to call Lucas to check on his progress with the new body, but I'm afraid Jo would use that as an excuse to force a mandatory psychiatric evaluation on me." He massaged his sinuses which were aching badly from all the sneezing he'd done earlier. "My head hurts. I think I'll just take an aspirin and go to bed for awhile."

Abe nodded. "Ok feel better and try not to worry too much about the case. You know they'll call you if they need you."

"Yes I know," Henry said with a slight frown. The problem was that he wasn't entirely sure if Jo or Lucas would always recognize when they could benefit from his expertise.

\------

Henry wasn't having much luck napping. The aspirin had helped with his sinus pain, but he was still left with a bit of a dull ache. On top of that his mind was racing which was preventing him from falling asleep so he just lay in bed awake with the gears of his mind working in overdrive. He kept thinking about the case despite knowing there wasn't really much he could actually do at this point, but he kept wondering if there were clues on the new body that Lucas might have missed. He had to admit though that Lucas was getting better at finding the tiniest pieces of evidence.

At some point his thoughts turned to Jo and the threat she had made. He knew that a psychiatric evaluation was a far cry from being committed to a mental hospital and that she had only made the threat because she was concerned for his well being. He really wasn't sure he could blame her under the circumstances, but it still hurt, quite a lot more than he would care to admit to anyone. It brought up so many painful memories from when his first wife had him thrown in an insane asylum. He had loved Nora and thought he could trust her with his secret, but times were different back then and she wasn't nearly so open-minded as Abigail had been. He was sure that Jo wouldn't do that to him, not unless he became extremely unstable, but it would still take some time for him to feel at ease around her again. He had a feeling that they would end up having a serious conversation about this once the case was resolved and he was not looking forward to it at all.

He eventually decided that if he wasn't going to be able to sleep he should read a book to get his mind off of things. He got out of bed and scanned the books on his bookshelf. He finally selected A Tale of Two Cities. It was an old favorite and it had been several years since the last time he read it. The book was a bit dusty and a small cloud of dust flew up when he removed the book from the shelf. He backed up a few steps and tried not to breathe it in, but despite his efforts his nose was tickling within seconds. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and released three sharp sneezes into it. He blew his nose, then retrieved a rag from his closet and carefully cleaned the book off as best he could. He then settled into an armchair to read. It seemed that he hadn't been able to completely rid the book of dust and he kept sniffling and sneezing from time to time as he turned the pages, but it seemed like almost nothing compared to some of the allergy attacks he'd had lately. After a couple of chapters he was relaxed enough that fatigue finally set in and he dozed off right there in the armchair.

Jo sighed after trying to call Henry for the fourth time. His cell phone kept going to voicemail and it seemed that the landline had been left off the hook again. She'd have to drive all the way over to his place just to tell him that tech finished processing the code on the body and that the results had been emailed to him. At least it had stopped raining. She half wondered if he was ignoring her calls because of what happened earlier, but she knew he would never be that childish. If he was upset with her he might be curt when talking to her, but he'd never flat out ignore her. She really was concerned about his state of mind right now after that crazy flashback episode despite his assurances that it would be unlikely to happen again. When she pulled up to the antiques shop she saw that it was closed. It was a bit early in the day for it to be closed she thought, but then Abe never seemed to keep regular business hours. He just opened and closed the shop whenever it suited him. She got out of her car and peered through the front door and saw Abe taking a nap in a chair. She hated to wake him, but she really needed to talk to Henry so she knocked on the door.

Abe woke up with a jolt as he heard the knocking. When he saw who was at the door he got up immediately to answer it. "Hello, I suppose you're looking for Henry?"

"Yes, I've got an update on the case we're working on and I couldn't get a hold of him by phone. Sorry for waking you," she said apologetically.

Abe waved her off dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I should probably open the shop back up anyway," Abe answered checking his watch. "Henry should be upstairs unless he snuck out while I was sleeping. He said something about taking a nap himself. You can go on up."

Jo nodded. "Ok thanks Abe." It didn't take her too long to find Henry's bedroom even though she'd never been on the top floor of the apartment before. There wasn't much up there, just two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a linen closet. Henry's bedroom door was open and she could see him sleeping in an armchair with an open book lying against his stomach. She smiled glad that he had actually followed her instructions to rest. She knocked on the door not wanting to enter without waking him, but he didn't respond. Upon a second look she could see that there was a grimace on his face and he seemed to be twisting from side to side slightly in the chair. Thinking that he must be having a bad dream she entered the room and slowly approached the armchair. He was muttering in his sleep. She thought she heard a woman's name, Nora, followed by 'please don't'. "Henry wake up," she said shaking him gently. Instead of waking up he just started to thrash around with his arms flailing knocking the book to the floor and she had to dodge to avoid getting hit. She finally managed to grab hold of his arms and restrain him. "Henry wake up!" she repeated shouting this time. He instantly stilled and opened his eyes, his face a mix of fear and confusion. Jo released her grip on his arms. "Jeez, are you always this violent when having a nightmare?"

"Violent?"

"Yeah, you came pretty close to giving me a black eye when I tried to wake you up," she informed him. "It's a good thing I've got a cop's reflexes."

"I'm so sorry," Henry said with a look of dismay. "It was a rather unpleasant dream." He had been reliving that awful day when Nora had had him committed and just before he'd awoken he was dreaming about the part where he was being restrained and forced into a straightjacket. He sniffled feeling his nose start to tickle and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket just in time to sneeze twice wetly into it, then blew his nose.

"Bless you. Still reacting to whatever was in the air at the station?"

Henry shook his head. "No, other than a headache that attack stopped shortly after leaving. However, the book I was reading was a bit dusty."

Jo nodded. "Maybe you should consider getting a tablet and switching to ebooks." Jo laughed when she saw the look of pure horror and disgust on Henry's face. "Ok ok, forget I mentioned it. Who's Nora by the way? You were saying her name in your sleep," she asked and placed a friendly hand on Henry's shoulder.

Henry found himself flinching involuntarily at her touch. He was still upset about her earlier threats as well as being shaken up from his dream. She immediately removed her hand and backed away from him taking a seat on his bed. He sighed before speaking. "She was my first wife before Abigail. Things ended poorly between us."

"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked unsure if she should be more worried about this or what happened at the station. On the one hand it had been much easier to wake him from his dream than it had been to snap him out of his flashback and he didn't seem to have any trouble recognizing who she was, but at least he hadn't lashed out violently when he was having the flashback.

Henry hesitated. Obviously he couldn't share all of the details with her, but perhaps it would make him feel better to confide in her. "Well you remember the scar you saw on my chest when... well you know when... I was shot."

Jo raised her eyebrows in surprise. It didn't look like most gunshot wounds she'd seen, but from the size and placement of it, she was surprised he had survived it. "Was it Nora that shot you?"

Henry shook his head vehemently. "No, I was shot trying to defend another man."

Jo nodded. She really wasn't surprised. It was just the sort of thing he did. She had previously thought his reckless heroics had started when they began their partnership, but she realized that this is who he'd always been. "That was very courageous of you."

"Yes and pointless as they simply killed the other man as soon as I was incapacitated. Anyway it was a very difficult time for me and things changed between me and Nora."

"She couldn't handle your PTSD?"

Henry frowned. "Yes something like that."

"Henry it's ok. I'm a cop, I see this sort of thing all the time. I'm not going to judge you. My main concern is whether you are well enough to do your job," she took a deep breath before continuing, "and I'm also worried about you as a friend."

Henry smiled sadly. "It was so long ago, I should be over it by now."

"Traumatic events have a way of affecting people many years after the fact. You never know what will trigger those memories."

Henry nodded knowing that he probably wouldn't have had that nightmare if it weren't for Jo's earlier threat of a psychiatric evaluation. He almost wanted to tell her that was the cause, but thought better of it knowing it wasn't her intention to hurt him. "I'll be alright Jo. If you hadn't come along I'm sure the dream would have passed normally. I might not even have remembered it upon waking. So did you just come here to check up on me, or was there an update with the case?"

"Yes tech finished with the encoded tattoos on the second body and emailed you the results," said Jo. "I did try to call but you weren't answering your phone."

Henry took his phone from his pocket and saw that sure enough there were three missed calls from Jo. "My apologies. I must have slept through the ringing."

"Lucas also said that the blood work on the first victim finally came back and tested positive for Phenobarbital."

Henry frowned. "Yes that would definitely explain why there was no indication that the victim struggled or fought back. The second victim was likely drugged as well. Were you at least able to identify him?"

Jo shook her head. "Unfortunately no. Like the first victim there were no hits in the system for the DNA. It's going to take a long time to try to match the victims to dental records."

"Well I'd better take a look at those coding results." Henry led Jo down to the living room and logged on to his work email account using Abe's computer. He quickly located the email in question and opened it. "Hmm it says here that the code was hexadecimal instead of binary this time whatever that means. Interesting, the code translated into Welsh."

"Let me guess, you just so happen to be fluent in Welsh?" said Jo smirking.

Henry nodded. "My mother was Welsh. I grew up learning to speak it alongside English." Henry groaned as he finished reading the text of the email.

"What does it say?"

"It's merely the coordinates for the location of another body." He grabbed a piece of paper from the pad by the phone and jotted down the coordinates and handed them to Jo.

Jo frowned. "Ok let's go, we need to find this body fast."

"Does this mean I've been released from my mandatory period of rest?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yes now come on!"

Henry couldn't help grinning. "Right, just let me grab my coat and scarf."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next body wasn't where it should have been according to the coordinates, but thanks to Lucas, Henry and Jo find another lead to chase down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Scattered references to events from random episodes up through season 1 episode 8.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

"Son of a bitch!" Jo cursed. They had searched the entire warehouse that was at the coordinates Henry had translated, but there was no sign of a body. Other officers had searched the surrounding buildings as well but hadn't been able to find anything. "Are you sure you translated that Welsh correctly?"

Henry raised an eyebrow, smiled slightly, and shook his head at Jo's use of language. He was both amused and a bit offended at her insinuation that he couldn't speak Welsh properly. "Detective, that is like asking a Mexican-American who grew up with Spanish speaking parents if they translated a piece of Spanish properly. Welsh is my native language just as much as English is." To prove his point he started reciting a poem in Welsh. Not that it would have meant anything to Jo, but it made him feel better.

"Ok I'm sorry," she apologized, "but something is not right here."

Henry nodded and then opened his mouth to give his theories on what had gone wrong, but his breath hitched as a tickle in his nose flared up and he sneezed forcefully into his handkerchief for what seemed like the hundredth time since they entered the warehouse. The building was old and abandoned and full of dust and mold and who knows what else. He sniffled and then sneezed twice more blowing his nose afterward. "I believe there might have been an error with the software that translated the computer code or possibly an error with the code itself. You should have the tech people double check it. It would also be helpful if we could find the facility that created these elaborate tattoos. They might be able to help us determine if any errors were made and help us identify the victims and possibly a suspect."

"Yes Hanson and I have been trying to research tattoo parlors that would be capable of creating this sort of thing, but we've come up empty so far. If the victims were tattooed a week before they died they could have gotten the tattoos anywhere in the world. I will have tech double check the coding though."

"There is one more possibility to consider. The body might have been here, but was moved before we arrived," Henry theorized then doubled over in another sneezing fit. He felt like dozens of ants were crawling around in his nasal passages and rubbed his nose vigorously.

"Maybe, but so far there's been no sign that a body was ever here," Jo pointed out. "Come on, let's get you out of here before you keel over."

Henry didn't argue and followed Jo back to her car. He was more than ready to leave and knew it would take some time for the attack to work itself out even after leaving this place. After getting in the car he muffled a sneeze against the back of his wrist. He pulled his pill box from his pocket but just stared at it.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to take something for that sneezing or just admire the antique enamel on the pill box?"

Henry sighed. He wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to take more medicine or not. It would be his second dose that day and would likely put his head in a fog. "I haven't decided. It's that same dilemma again. If I take more medicine it will likely reduce my symptoms, but leave me groggy and impair my concentration. If I let the allergy attack work itself out then I'll be left feeling drained with impaired concentration." He sniffled then released three rapid-fire sneezes into his handkerchief and blew his nose.

Jo nodded. "Well if you're damned either way, in your place I'd probably just take the pills."

Henry considered this. "If I haven't improved in fifteen minutes I will medicate myself."

Jo shook her head and rolled her eyes. She could see that her partner was already becoming fatigued from all the sneezing and he really should have taken something when the attack started shortly after they arrived at the warehouse, but of course he'd waved her off stubbornly insisting he'd be fine and continued to help with the search. "That just means it will take fifteen minutes longer to get into your system."

Henry shrugged. "What's fifteen minutes give or take? My cognitive abilities will be slightly better without the medication, so I'd prefer to avoid it if possible."

"And that slight increase in brain power is worth the allergic misery?"

"It is depending on what I'm doing," he insisted.

Jo rolled her eyes again then pulled her phone from her pocket as it started ringing. She looked at the display and saw that it was Lucas calling and answered it. "Hold on Lucas, I've got Henry here with me. Let me put you on speaker." She pressed the speaker button on her phone. "Ok go ahead."

"Ok so I was doing some digging and asking around and I think I might have found a place right in the city that can create the kind of tattoos that were found on the victims," said Lucas. "It's called Plain Sight Designs and they mostly cater to rich computer nerds who for whatever reason want tattoos with hidden messages in them that only they know the meaning of."

"Hmm clever establishment name... hidden in plain sight," Henry mused. "Excellent work Lucas, where is this place located?"

"Hold on I'll text you the address."

"Ok got it. Thanks Lucas," said Jo and hung up. She sighed as she watched Henry succumb to another fit muffling the sneezes into his handkerchief. "I really need to go check this place out. Do you want me to take you home, or do you feel up to tagging along?" she asked knowing he'd be unlikely to choose going home over investigating a case unless he was practically at death's door.

"Of course I'm coming with you," Henry replied with a grin. He tucked his pill box back into his pocket knowing he'd want to be as alert as possible for the interviews.

Jo did not fail to notice Henry's apparent decision to forgo his allergy medication, but didn't say anything. As she pulled out onto the road she wondered how the hell he actually found it easier to focus when sneezing his head off over being drugged up. She made a quick stop back at the station to pick up the case files and when she got back to the car she found Henry fast asleep. She smiled and shook her head swearing that if he had another violent nightmare she'd handcuff him and make him wait in the car while she conducted the interviews alone.

Henry was still asleep when they arrived at the tattoo parlor. He didn't appear to be suffering from any bad dreams at the moment, but Jo still prepared herself for flailing arms when she woke him up. "Henry we're here," she said gently shaking him. He just yawned and attempted to turn away from her as much as he could with his seatbelt on. She thought she heard him murmur something about it being too early and wanting five more minutes of sleep. She couldn't help giggling a bit knowing he must have thought he was home in bed. "Well if you're too tired you can wait in the car and I'll interview the owner by myself," she said a bit louder to penetrate his sleep-addled state.

This seemed to get Henry's attention and he opened his eyes and rubbed them. "Ok I'm awake. How long was I asleep?"

"A good twenty minutes. I hope the nap refreshed you."

"Indeed it did," he answered. He did feel more alert than he had been, but unfortunately his nose still itched somewhat. He sniffled, then sneezed twice into his handkerchief. By now it was too soiled to blow his nose into, so he switched it out for a fresh one.

"There are tissues in the glove compartment if you need them," said Jo knowing he usually didn't carry more than two handkerchiefs on him and they only held up for so long.

Henry opened the glove compartment and raised an eyebrow when he saw no less than six travel packs of tissues. He was both amused and touched that Jo had made a habit of keeping tissues in her pockets and car just in case he found himself unprepared. She still refused to admit that they were solely for his benefit, but he never saw her using them herself. "I've already got some in my pocket, but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry." He took a couple of tissue packs from the glove compartment and put them in his coat pocket next to the tissues that were already in there.

They got out of the car and entered the building. The inside of Plain Sight Designs didn't look anything like a typical tattoo parlor. The building opened up into a large brightly lit reception area with professional looking office furniture. It looked much more like the waiting room of a doctor's office. There were a few people in the waiting area sitting in comfortable looking armchairs reading magazines or doing things on their smart phones or tablets. They walked up to the front desk and Jo showed her badge to the receptionist. "I'm Detective Martinez with the NYPD and this is my colleague Dr. Morgan. I'd like to speak to the owner of this facility regarding a murder investigation."

The receptionist raised her eyebrows in surprise, but smiled and nodded. "One moment, I'll see if Ms. Wen is available," she said and dialed her boss's extension. "There's a Detective here to see you about a murder investigation," she said into the phone. After a moment she hung up the phone. "She's in the middle of something, but said if you'd care to wait, she'll come out to see you in a few minutes."

Jo nodded. "That will be fine." She and Henry took seats in a couple of the armchairs to wait. Jo noticed that Henry didn't seem at all happy about having to wait, in fact the look on his face was a combination of annoyed and uncomfortable. "You ok?"

Henry nodded and sniffled as he felt his allergies starting to flare up again. There was a rather impressive arrangement of assorted flowers on the coffee table in front of them in the middle of the magazines and it was not agreeing with him at all. He rubbed his nose trying to ward off the impending sneezing fit but it didn't help and he sneezed harshly into his handkerchief, paused briefly, then sneezed another three times in rapid succession. He blew his nose wetly and sighed. "I'll be fine," he answered, though not very convincingly.

Jo followed Henry's gaze to the flowers on the table and shook her head slightly with an amused expression on her face. "Bless you. I really can't take you anywhere can I?"

Henry chuckled. "So it would seem."

Jo looked around to see if there was anywhere else they could sit, but she saw similar flower arrangements in close proximity to the rest of the chairs in the waiting room. "Just try to keep it to a minimum during the interview ok?"

"I will endeavor to do my best. Though if there are more of those in Ms. Wen's office, it may be a lost cause," he said indicating the flowers. As if on cue a tall slender Asian woman in a business suit entered the reception area. She stopped by the desk and the receptionist pointed them out to her. As she approached them Henry got a better look at her and thought she looked rather like The Frenchman, but perhaps ten years younger. He wondered if they were related. After introductions they followed Ms. Wen back to her office. She sat in the chair behind her desk and Henry and Jo took seats in the chairs in front of the desk. To his chagrin there was another flower arrangement on her desk. He took the seat furthest from the flowers but it really wasn't going to make much of a difference. The smell was stronger in this enclosed room and he could already feel his sinuses starting to clog up. He did his best to breathe through his mouth in the attempt to stave off any sneezing. Jo shot him a quick sympathetic smile.

"Is something wrong?" Ms. Wen asked seeing Henry's discomfort.

"I was just wondering if you were by any chance related to an antique weapons dealer who calls herself the Frenchman?" he asked trying not to draw attention to his allergic distress.

"Why yes, she is my cousin."

"I thought so," said Henry with a slight grin. "I can see the family resemblance."

"Wow, small world," Jo commented with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know my cousin?" Ms. Wen inquired.

"I co-own an antiques shop with my roommate and our paths cross from time to time," Henry explained. At this point his nose was tickling too much to ignore it any longer and he gave in sneezing several times into his handkerchief. "My apologies. I promise I'm not contagious, it's just allergies," he said with a sniffle when he saw the shocked expression on Ms. Wen's face.

Ms. Wen nodded and smiled. "No need to apologize. Well we'd better get down to business. What's this about a murder investigation?"

"Multiple murders actually," said Jo. "All of the victims had some very specialized tattoos that they got approximately a week before they were killed. We are trying to determine whether or not they received their tattoos at your facility." She pulled out some photos of the tattoos from the file folder and placed them on the desk. Then she pulled out a zoomed in image showing the computer code and placed it on the desk next to the others. "That last image is of one of the tattoos magnified several times."

Ms. Wen studied the photos for a few moments. "Yes we do have the capability of producing these sorts of tattoos with hidden messages in them, although I don't recognize these particular tattoos. You'd have to speak with the artists."

"How is it that you can produce these tattoos with such intricate detail?" asked Henry. "No one could possibly do it by hand. Do you use some sort of robotic equipment?"

"That's correct Dr. Morgan. For those sorts of tattoos the artists operate a robotic arm much like those used in robotics-assisted surgical procedures."

"Have any of your tattoo artists been…" Jo trailed off momentarily distracted by Henry having another sneezing fit, "acting out of the ordinary over the last couple of weeks?"

"No, no one has been acting any differently. However, it has just been brought to my attention that someone has been doing tattoo work after hours off the books. I don't know if it will prove relevant to your case, but you are welcome to review the security feeds with me. I have access to them right here on my computer."

"Yes that would be great," said Jo and got up and moved behind the desk to stand behind Ms. Wen as she brought up the security feeds on her computer. She motioned for Henry to join her.

Henry sighed resignedly knowing that he was going to be even closer to the flowers standing behind the desk and got up and moved to stand next to Jo. He tried to focus on the video, but a sudden sharp tickle in his nose caused him gasp and he just barely had time to turn away from the others as he sneezed explosively into his handkerchief. He blew his nose as discreetly as he could and kept the handkerchief over his nose hoping it would help filter out the smell of the flowers. Luckily he turned back towards the computer screen just as Ms. Wen had fast forwarded to the relevant part. He could see one man manhandling another man who was clearly intoxicated into a chair. The first man removed the second man's shirt, set up the tattooing equipment and then started tattooing what appeared to be Egyptian hieroglyphs on his chest. "That man has clearly been drugged. I'm not sure he's there of his own free will."

"Do you recognize that employee?" Jo asked.

Ms. Wen frowned and nodded. "His name is Derek Coleman. This is a real shock to me. He's one of my best artists."

"We'll definitely want to bring him in for questioning," said Jo. "Is he working today?"

"Yes he is." Ms. Wen called the receptionist and told her to have Derek sent to her office. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Derek entered the office, took one look at Jo's badge, then turned and fled.

"Why do they always make me chase them?" Jo grumbled and took off after Derek.

"Thank you for your help and give my regards to your cousin," Henry said quickly and started running after Jo. He was having a difficult time catching up to Jo because his congestion made it hard to breathe. They chased Derek though the building and out the back door. Jo was catching up to Derek, but Henry was falling further behind. Jo and Derek turned the corner and disappeared into an alley. By the time he made it into the ally there was no sign of Jo or Derek. He stopped to catch his breath and then made his way slowly down the alley trying to see if Jo was lying hurt somewhere. He stopped again as the need to sneeze came over him. He really had been trying to restrain himself back in Ms. Wen's office, and now it seemed like the dam broke and his nose was tickling like crazy. His breath hitched a few times and then he started sneezing repeatedly into his handkerchief. He lost count of how many times he'd sneezed, but just as he was starting to feel lightheaded something cold and hard collided with the back of his skull. He barely had time to register the pain before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ioan Gruffudd who plays Henry Morgan actually is Welsh and he speaks the language beautifully. Here is a video of him reciting a poem in Welsh and it's what I was thinking about when I wrote that bit of this chapter.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNT4a6pKqck


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry wakes up in the middle of a field after hours of being unconscious with the missing body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Scattered references to events from random episodes up through season 1 episode 8.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

When Henry woke up the first thing he felt was the back of his head throbbing. He did his best to ignore the pain and began to take stock of his state in general. His eyes itched and burned a lot and he instinctively rubbed at them, but that just made it worse. His nose wasn't any better. It was tickling badly and was so blocked up that he could barely get any air in through it. His mouth and throat were parched from breathing through his mouth for an extended period of time. It felt like he was outside lying on some grassy surface. He tentatively opened his eyes and they immediately filled with allergic tears. He wiped them away, but his vision was still somewhat blurry, possibly as a result of his head injury. From what he could see he was in the middle of a field filled with tall grass and ragweed. He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there, but it was late and the sun was starting to set. He groaned knowing that he had been breathing in all that grass and ragweed pollen for hours and that knowledge made him all the more aware of how badly he needed to sneeze. He pinched and rubbed his nose trying to hold it off as long as possible, though he knew it was futile.

He tried to sit up, but a wave of pain and nausea caused him to collapse back onto the ground. He gently probed the back of his head where he had been struck and just that light touch was extremely painful. There was a hard lump where the weapon had hit him and it felt damp with what he guessed was partially dried blood. When he looked at his hand was able to see the blood on it. He wiped his hand off on the grass next to him. He briefly wondered if he had a concussion, but those thoughts were interrupted by his nose demanding his attention. He struggled to sit up again and then started sneezing convulsively, each one causing an explosion of pain in his head and he nearly passed out again from it.

When the fit had passed Henry searched his pockets for his handkerchief but he couldn't find it. His supply of tissues seemed to be missing as well and he was forced to wipe his dripping nose on his sleeve. It dawned on him that it must have been Adam that attacked him and not the suspect that he and Jo had been chasing. Who else would bother to steal his handkerchiefs and tissues? He was finally ready to give in and take some medication. Hell he'd swallow all the pills he had on him at this point. He searched his pockets again and to his relief his pill box was still there, but his face fell when he opened it and saw that it was empty. Adam had certainly been thorough and had clearly wanted him to suffer. He had to get out of this field. He wasn't sure he was capable of standing at this point, but he got up onto his knees so he could get a better look around. The field was large and he couldn't see any buildings or roads, just some trees in the distance. He had no idea where he was or what direction he should go in.

He saw something lying in the grass a few feet away and he crawled over to it. It was a corpse and he guessed it was the one that was supposed to have been at the warehouse. The face and hands were burnt and the torso was covered in tattoos in foreign languages just like the others had been. He had to call Jo. Even if he hadn't found the third body he was lost and hurt and needed help. At least Adam hadn't taken his phone, though it seemed he had turned it off. He probably hadn't wanted anyone to be able to track his GPS signal for awhile. While he was waiting for the phone to boot up he was seized with another fit of sneezing. At least the sneezing didn't hurt his head as much this time, or maybe he was just getting used to the pain. His chest was starting to feel a bit tight though. Asthma attacks were very rare for him, but he could remember that this was how they generally started out. He wasn't really all that surprised though given how long he'd been lying out here breathing in all those allergens. There was no telling how quickly his symptoms would escalate though.

Henry crawled away from the corpse a bit having no desire to sit right next to it in his current state. He looked at his phone and saw there was a notification that he had four voice messages. The first one was from Adam. "Henry you said you wanted me to help more so I brought you to the next body. I hope you enjoy the scenery," he said with a snicker and then the message ended. The next two messages were from Jo. The first one was her wanting to know where he'd disappeared to and updated him that they had Derek Coleman in custody and that he had been so surprised and angry that the third body wasn't in the warehouse where he'd left it that he seemed close to confessing. The second message from her was again wanting to know where he was and there were definitely hints of panic and worry in her voice. The last message was from a frantic sounding Abe also wanting to know where the hell he was.

Henry stood up to see if he could see his surroundings any further, but the field went on as far as he could see, and he soon collapsed again with a wave of dizziness. He started sneezing again as his immune system continued to rebel against all the allergens he was breathing in. After a couple of minutes his body decided to switch gears and he doubled over with a long series of painful coughs. It was gradually getting harder to breathe and he thought he could hear faint wheezing sounds every time he took a breath. He really wanted to blow his nose to see if that would help. In the absence of handkerchiefs and tissues, he realized his only course of action was to use his scarf. He sighed as he removed it from his neck and blew his nose repeatedly into the soft fabric. He could definitely breathe somewhat better through his nose now, but there was still that awful tight heavy feeling in his lungs. He called up Jo on his phone and she answered after the first ring.

"Henry! What happened? Where the hell are you?" Jo shouted. "Abe is worried sick!" And so am I, she left unspoken.

"Was attacked... don't know where I am... use GPS signal..." Henry managed to gasp out between coughs and sneezes.

"You don't sound so good, are you ok?"

"I have a minor head injury and possibly a concussion, but it's starting to get hard to breathe..." he broke off sneezing twice and then coughed several times, "I think asthma might be setting in."

"Shit," Jo cursed now hearing the wheezing in Henry's voice. "Ok hold on, we're going to track your phone and get to you as soon as possible. Do you have any idea where you are? Can you see any landmarks?"

"No, I'm in a large field. All I can see is grass and ragweed and trees in the distance."

Jo grimaced. That place sounded like hay fever central for someone like Henry. "Ok just sit tight and keep breathing. We'll be there soon," she said and hung up.

As Henry was gripped by another bout of sneezing he wondered if it had been a mistake to call Jo. There was a very real possibility that she wouldn't get there in time and he'd just die and turn up back in the river, but what would be even worse is if she got there right as he was dying and witnessed him disappearing. There was nothing he could do about it now though. It wasn't as if he could just call her back and tell her not to come. He tried to do as Jo had said and focused on his breathing and did his best not to panic knowing it would just make the asthma worse. He was scared though, not just of the possibility of Jo arriving only in time to see him die, but of the death itself. Sure he knew he'd be fine eventually, but dying of asphyxiation was never fun regardless of what caused it. He knew he should probably call Abe and let him know that he might be dying soon so he'd be prepared. He dialed Abe's number on his phone. "Abraham it's me," he said when Abe picked up.

"Let me guess, you died again and need me to pick you up?"

"Not quite yet, but I might be dying soon," he paused as a coughing fit overtook him. "Please go down to the river and wait there until I either awaken in the river or I call you again."

"Are you having an asthma attack?" Abe asked hearing the sound of his father's wheezing.

"Yes, I was attacked and dumped in the middle of a ragweed field."

"Did you use your epi-pen?"

Henry could kick himself for not thinking of that. As a doctor he knew perfectly well that an epi-pen would work for asthma as well as anaphylaxis. He supposed he could blame the head injury. He felt around in the pocket he usually kept it in, but it was gone. Adam had taken that too. "No, I don't have it. It was removed from my pockets along with several other items when I was unconscious."

"Ok I'll pack you towels and a change of clothes and drive down to the river," said Abe with a sigh knowing his father was likely in for a painful death.

"Thank you Abe, I love you." Henry choked out before he started coughing again.

Abe paused before answering. He wasn't sure why his father was being so emotional, they'd been through this so many times before, but he figured he should return the sentiment all the same. "I love you too dad," he said before hanging up.

Henry put the phone back in his pocket feeling reassured knowing that Abe would be there waiting for him at the river and he wouldn't have to sneak around naked until he could find a phone to use. He was so tired now and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. He wondered if he really did have a concussion and that was the cause or if it was just fatigue brought on by the excessive coughing and sneezing and not being able to breathe properly. With each passing minute the vice-like pressure in his chest grew gradually worse and every cough and sneeze seemed to rip painfully through his lungs. At some point he started to see dark spots clouding his vision from lack of oxygen and knew it probably wouldn't be too much longer.

He put his phone down on the ground so that Jo would be able to track the signal and be able to find the corpse after he had disappeared and placed his pocket watch on top of it. Then dreading the loss of another set of clothing, he started to get undressed and placed his clothing in a loose pile next to his phone and watch. He stripped down to his underwear and decided it would be best to leave those on just in case Jo and the paramedics actually did show up before he died and he could just blame his near nakedness on delirium. The act of undressing had sapped a lot of his remaining strength and he lay down on the ground and closed his eyes just listening to the awful sound of his own wheezing breath. It was even harder to breathe in this position, but it didn't really make much of a difference. He was going to die and nothing could change that at this point unless the paramedics arrived and treated him within the next few minutes. His lungs slowly started to seize up and he felt the familiar panic rise once he realized that he couldn't breathe in at all anymore. He thought he could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance and then he lost consciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jo arrives at the field with help Henry is no longer there, but she has a hunch as to where he might have disappeared to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Blood and Gore, Temporary Character Death, mentions of Suicide
> 
> Spoilers: Scattered references to events from random episodes up through season 1 episode 8.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story is a very minor crossover with Stargate SG-1. Only one Stargate SG-1 character is mentioned in a few chapters. You won't be lost if you aren't familiar with Stargate SG-1, but those that are will be able to appreciate a bit of added humor.
> 
> Suicide is joked about and even occurs at some point during the story, but since it's in relation to a character that can't permanently die, it's not a big deal. If for any reason you think this might offend or upset you, please don't read this story.

Jo sped across the field in her car with her siren blaring and an ambulance screaming behind her. She didn't know exactly what the situation was, whether Henry's attacker was still there or not, so Hanson and a few other officers followed as backup. As she approached the spot where Henry's phone GPS signal was coming from she could have sworn she saw him lying on the ground, but when she got there she only saw his clothing, phone, and watch on the ground. She cursed knowing that Henry's attacker had probably moved him, and without his phone GPS signal, it would be very difficult to find him. What made matters worse was that with Henry having an asthma attack they were really pressed for time assuming he wasn't already dead. Jo shook her head refusing to think about that possibility. She gathered up Henry's things and put them in the back seat of her car. When she turned around again to survey the area she spotted the body lying several feet away. As she got closer she saw the burned hands and face and the tattoos and knew it was their missing body and called Hanson over.

Since Henry wasn't here Hanson instructed the paramedics to load the body into the ambulance and transport it back to the morgue. "It'll be ok Jo. We're going to find him," he said seeing the hard worried expression on Jo's face.

Jo nodded but didn't say anything at first. The wheels in her head were turning. If all of Henry's things were here, then that probably meant he was naked and she thought back to the last time she'd seen him naked. She knew it was irrational, but her gut was telling her that he was down at the river again. "I think I might know where he is."

"What are you talking about?" said Hanson with a puzzled expression.

"I've just got a hunch," Jo answered not wanting to say anything more.

"Do you need backup?"

"Not if he's where I think he is, but I'll call you if I need you." Hanson nodded at her and she got in her car and drove off towards the river as fast as she dared. When she got there she was just in time to see Henry finish getting dressed next to Abe's car and then he got in and they drove away. She drove after them and followed them back to the antiques shop. She parked across the street and watched as Henry and Abe got out of the car and entered the building. She didn't get out right away. She needed a few minutes to think before she confronted Henry. Her instincts had been right, he had been down by the river again naked, but she had no idea what it meant. She was beginning to suspect that what he had told her the first time she'd found him there wasn't the whole truth if not an outright lie.

When Henry and Abe entered the antiques shop Henry noticed something that shouldn't have been there, a box sitting on the chess table. He walked over to the table and saw there was a note on top of the box. He opened the note and read it.

    Dear Henry,

    Please accept my apologies. I didn't realize you would have such a severe reaction. It was not my intent for things to go that far. I hope there are no hard feelings.

    Sincerely,

    Adam

Henry opened the box and inside was everything that Adam had stolen from him, his handkerchiefs, tissues, pills, and epi-pen. He read the note again and frowned. At first glance it seemed as if Adam was genuinely remorseful, but Henry wasn't inclined to believe him. If it had never occurred to Adam that he might have a life threatening reaction, then why would he bother to take the epi-pen? Even if Adam was being truthful, he had still attacked him and knowingly put him in a situation that set off his allergies and he wasn't inclined to forgive him.

"What is it?" Abe asked interrupting Henry's thoughts.

"It's from Adam. He's the one that attacked me," he handed the note to Abe to read. "In the box is everything he took from me while I was unconscious."

"What a bunch of BS," Abe muttered after reading the note.

"Yes, though at the moment I'm more concerned with the fact that he broke in here. We should really get a better lock and perhaps install a security system."

"No arguments here," Abe agreed. "I'd better lock up again for the night for all the good it will do." Just as he started for the door Jo burst into the shop.

Jo rushed right past Abe and headed for Henry. She stared at him for a second with so many different conflicting emotions, but relief won out first and she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Henry stiffened startled at first, but then put his arms around her and hugged her back. "What are you doing here Jo?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I was really worried about you." Now that she had touched him and reassured herself that he was really ok, feelings of anger replaced those of relief. She pulled out of the embrace and gave him a sharp slap across the face.

Henry staggered back a couple of steps and rubbed his cheek where she had hit him. "What was that for?"

"Err I'll just give you two some privacy," said Abe awkwardly and practically ran up the stairs to the apartment.

"One you scared me and two you lied to me," Jo answered angrily.

"I'm sorry I scared you Jo, but you'll have to elaborate on the second charge. I promise that what happened tonight was not a prank," Henry said holding up his hands in a placating manner.

"I'm not accusing you of playing a prank Henry, but there are still some things you need to explain," said Jo her expression still hard. "You call me up after having been attacked and sound like you're dying from an asthma attack. I track your phone signal and get out there with an ambulance as fast as I can, but when I get there you're gone and all that's left is a pile of your clothes, watch, and phone. Oh and yeah there's the missing body close by which you failed to mention on the phone."

"Look it's been a long day," said Henry cutting Jo off. "Could we possibly discuss this sitting down?"

Jo nodded and they sat down on one of the antique couches. "I drove down to the river and saw you getting dressed next to Abe's car."

Henry cringed. "You saw that?" Jo nodded her mouth set in a fine line. "Alright, I don't know if I'll be able to give you answers to all of your questions, but I will do my best. Firstly, I didn't mention the body because I had other things on my mind. I was dying, or I thought I was at any rate," he quickly corrected himself. "I knew you'd find the body soon enough. The asthma escalated quite a bit after I got off the phone with you. I passed out from lack of oxygen. The next thing I knew I was in the river naked." This was mostly the truth, he just left out the part about him actually dying.

"And your allergies/asthma just happened to clear up just like that?" Jo asked skeptically.

"Yes I'm feeling much better thank you," he replied with a slight smile. "I will admit it is strange. If you hadn't shown up I'd be in the middle of performing another allergy test, after calling to let you know I was alright of course."

Jo narrowed her eyes at him. The whole thing didn't make one bit of sense. She understood that his allergies were weird, but even if they had just spontaneously disappeared in the middle of his attack, she'd think it would take awhile for the inflammation in his airways to die down. She still had questions she wanted answered about the whole river thing, but thought that maybe it would be best if he got the allergy test out of the way. "Well if you want to go do that, we can finish this conversation afterward."

Henry shook his head. "It can wait."

"Fine then, I want some straight answers about what this thing is about you being naked in the river."

"I'm sorry Jo, but I'm not sure I can give you any straight answers on that subject," he answered with a sigh. "What made you think to look for me there?"

"Well all of your stuff was left in the field which meant that you were naked when you were moved and I just thought about when I found you naked by the river and then I just had a strong hunch that I'd find you there again," Jo explained. "I'm guessing it's the same reason that Abe knew to find you there, because it's happened before. I don't think you were honest with me about why you were there last time. I don't believe it had anything to do with nostalgia. How many times has this happened Henry?" He didn't say anything and looked down as if he was intently studying his own hands. "Look do you have some weird stalker that likes to attack you, steal your clothes, and then dump you in the river?"

Henry's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened in surprise that she had partially guessed the truth. Yes he definitely considered Adam to be a stalker, but Adam had only been responsible for two of his deaths and he'd had nothing to do with the death in which Jo had found him by the river the first time. He wasn't quite sure how to respond and maybe it would be best to just let her think that it was the fault of a stalker every time he ended up in the river.

Seeing the look on Henry's face confirmed her suspicions. "I'm right aren't I? Why haven't you gotten the police involved?"

"I honestly don't know what good it would do," Henry answered shaking his head. "I've never seen his face. How can the police help if I can't identify my attacker?"

"Well since I was able to recover your belongings I can check for fingerprints or trace DNA," Jo pointed out.

"Be my guest," said Henry knowing she wouldn't find anything. "Though I sense my attacker is too smart to have left any trace evidence. Are you still angry with me?"

Jo shook her head. "No I'm not angry Henry, just a little hurt that you didn't feel you could trust me enough to come to me about this. We're partners and we need to be able to trust each other."

"I do trust you Jo. I trust you with my life, but that doesn't mean that I need to tell you everything going on in my life. I'm sure there are lots of things I don't know about you, and I don't ask because I respect your privacy."

"I don't expect you to tell me every little detail, but Henry this is something big that ended up affecting the case we're working on. Your stalker stole a corpse from the murderer and moved it causing a delay in our investigation."

"I'm sorry, I never thought he would do something like that."

"There's something else I need to ask you," said Jo biting her lip. "I really wish I didn't have to ask you this because it's something that's going to make us both very uncomfortable."

"What is it?" Henry asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well because your stalker's been perverted enough to take off your clothes, I have to ask, has he ever molested you, or you know anything worse than that?" said Jo her face flushing as she asked the question.

"What?!" he exclaimed shocked that she would even ask that. "Good Lord no! Nothing like that has ever happened." It wasn't that the thought of being with a man disgusted him. Although he preferred women, there were certainly men he'd been affectionate with in his long life, but the thought of being intimate with such a vile man as Adam utterly repulsed him. He hoped to god that Adam wasn't somehow listening to this conversation because it was beyond embarrassing.

"Ok, but promise you'll tell me if anything like that ever does happen?"

"Yes Jo I promise. Though personally I think he just likes my clothes." Henry hoped this feeble excuse would divert her train of thought.

Jo raised an eyebrow at that, but her phone started ringing before she could respond. She saw from the display that it was Hanson and answered it. He updated her letting her know that the tattoos on the third body had been photographed and that tech was putting a rush on processing the code, but it could take awhile as it was heavily encrypted. He then asked if she'd found Henry. "Yeah I'm with him now and he's fine. Abe got lucky and found him and brought him home." Hanson told her to tell Henry that he was glad he was ok. "I'll let him know. Call me if there are any new developments," she said and hung up. "That was Hanson updating me on the case."

"Thank you for being discreet," Henry said gratefully.

"He said he was glad you're ok. I think he was worried about you too," she said with a slight smirk.

Henry raised an eyebrow in surprise as he wasn't particularly close with Detective Hanson. "What has been happening with the case in my absence?"

"Well I don't know if you heard my message before calling me," said Jo, "but we have Coleman in custody. He was very surprised that the third body wasn't in the warehouse and was so angry that someone had messed with his plans that he confessed to all three murders and the Empire State Building bombing. He also said that there was another much larger bomb set to go off in three days, but wouldn't tell us where and that we'd need to find the third body if we wanted to stop it. Hanson said that tech is currently processing the code on the third body as fast as they can but it's heavily encrypted and will take awhile. I'm sure whatever weird language the code is in you'll be able to read it. I swear you could have become a linguist instead of an ME if you'd wanted to."

"Yes it's true that I do speak a lot of languages, but I find it strange that the codes just happen to be in languages I know. I'm certainly not fluent in all the languages of the world. I never learned Navajo for example."

Jo laughed. "When would you ever need Navajo?"

"One could make the same argument about Aramaic, and yet my knowledge of that language proved useful. Navajo was used back in World War II to transmit coded messages since it is considered to be one of the hardest languages in the world to learn."

Jo shook her head and smiled. He was always ready with interesting facts and spoke as if he knew from experience. It was intriguing and unsettling at the same time. "Well I should go and let you get that testing over with," she said and stood up. "I'm really glad you're ok Henry. When I got to that field and you weren't there, for a moment I was almost sure you were dead."

Henry smiled. He had been dead, he just hadn't stayed that way. "Yes, well as you can see I'm alive and well."

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully the code will be fully processed by then." She gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and left.

\------

Henry seemed awfully happy when he entered the squad room the next morning. He was grinning ear to ear as he practically ran towards Jo's desk. He had an almost manic gleam in his eyes and she hadn't seen him look this excited since he'd dug up that cell phone from under the rubber playground surface. He'd looked like a dog frantically digging up a bone that it had buried. "Hey Henry, you seem cheerful this morning. What's going on?"

"Can't you guess Jo? Flex those deductive skills."

Jo raised an eyebrow and studied him. He definitely seemed in high spirits about something. She thought that if he grinned any harder he would sprain his face. She stared at him for a couple more minutes before it hit her. The weather report had said that the pollen count was extremely high today yet he seemed perfectly fine. He wasn't sneezing, his eyes weren't red and watery, and there wasn't even a hint of congestion in his voice. He was also bright and alert instead of being run down and exhausted. "Did you finally find some non-sedating medication that actually works well for you?"

Henry shook his head. "Even better. My allergies have vanished again!"

"Wow, that's great. All of them?" she asked. He'd never divulged to her a full list of everything that he had been allergic to over the past few weeks, but it was definitely a long list just based on her own observations.

"Yes for the most part. There are still a few minor things that I'm testing positive to, but all the pollen allergies are gone and I feel fantastic!" he answered feeling like he might burst with joy. He also felt smug knowing it would be much harder now for Adam to torture him. He briefly mused over how the first time Adam had killed him it had been done as a favor, and it looked like this time Adam had done him a favor as well even if it hadn't been intentional.

"I'm really happy for you Henry," Jo replied sincerely. She'd really hated seeing him suffer all this time. "I hope the remission will last a long time."

"Yes so do I," he answered in a more serious tone. He knew there was a chance of the hay fever coming back the next time he died, but he was determined to enjoy his freedom from it for as long as he could.

"Well the computer code finished processing about an hour before I got in. Tech emailed it to me and I was just about to open it." Henry moved around to the other side of her desk and she opened the email.

"Well that's an odd language choice," Henry remarked after reading a few lines. "I wonder what made Coleman decide to go with Yiddish."

"You speak Yiddish?" Jo had actually been less surprised that he had known Aramaic.

Henry nodded. He'd needed to learn it back during World War II with all of the Jewish concentration camp victims he'd had to treat, but he couldn't very well tell Jo that and he quickly thought of an excuse that he was sure she'd buy. "Well it's a helpful language to know in the antiques business. You get a surprising amount of Jewish antique dealers in this city."

"Like the Berkowitz brothers?"

"Yes them," Henry said with a slight chuckle. "Even Abe really. He was adopted so he wasn't raised Jewish, but he was found as a baby in one of the concentration camps." Henry finished reading the text. "The next bombing is set to take place two days from now at 11am at the United Nations. I hope this will give the bomb squad enough time to find the bomb and disarm it."

"Yes I hope so too, but Homeland Security will be handling this and they have more resources than the NYPD so I'm sure they'll get the job done in time," said Jo trying to reassure them both. "Well I'd better go update the Lieutenant."

"Alright, I'll be down at the morgue if you need me." When Henry arrived at his office he found a short note on his desk and he groaned out loud when he read it.

    For the record Henry, you do own some very nice clothes.

    All my love,

    Adam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that left comments or kudos on this story. I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm a bit sad that it's over, but I'm also very proud of myself because this is the longest story I've ever written.
> 
> I decided to go with Yiddish for the last code just because, like Welsh, Yiddish is a language that Ioan Gruffudd actually speaks(he learned it for another role).
> 
> I do have a couple of one shots planned that wouldn't exactly be sequels to this story, but more like side stories. They are just some ideas I had without much plot that I didn't really feel fit anywhere in with this story and are really just excuses to torture Henry some more. You could almost think of them as deleted scenes.


End file.
